


Admiration

by Homunculi



Category: League of Legends RPF
Genre: Angst, Blood and Injury, Drinking, Explicit Language, Explicit Sexual Content, M/M, Sexual Tension, Violence, dubious situations, this pairing has never been done before???
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-11-29
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-10 06:42:00
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 20
Words: 38,175
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27769960
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Homunculi/pseuds/Homunculi
Summary: The members of G2 are coping with the replacement of Perkz in their own ways. But Jankos seems to be struggling the most.
Relationships: Marcin "Jankos" Jankowski/Mihael "Mikyx" Mehle, Martin "Rekkles" Larsson/Marcin "Jankos" Jankowski
Comments: 234
Kudos: 165





	1. Testing the Waters

**Author's Note:**

> Guess who's back? And fuckin' writing this instead of finishing shit I already started!!!  
> When I was going through relationship tags, I couldn't find this one so....has this never been done? Idk, but strap in, y'all. We're going into uncharted territory.  
> Thanks in advance if you also support this weird ass ship.

**admiration** **(noun)**

ad·mi·ra·tion | \ ˌad-mə-ˈrā-shən \

**1**

: a feeling of respect and approval

The addition of a new team member was a mutually exciting and daunting process. But every roster change in the history of Esports paled in comparison to this one. Perkz was gone. The leader of G2, the core of the team and its principles was now destined for NA. It goes without saying that all of his colleagues wished him well on his future endeavors, but that doesn’t outweigh the fact that they all would have been happier to keep him. The gaping hole left in the bot lane begged the question: Who could possibly replace Luka? 

In their heart of hearts they all knew the answer. There was only one ADC in all of Europe with enough skill and experience to match their former star. When the idea was pitched to them, it didn’t come as a surprise. The real shock came when Rekkles actually signed. They were stunned that he took the bait, but relieved at the same time. If  _ anyone _ was going to take Luka’s spot, he was the most deserving. On the other hand, it was weird. Weird for so many reasons. This was the pillar of Fnatic, their long-time rival, abandoning his staple team to join the enemy. And they all knew damn well it wasn’t for the money, either. G2 doesn’t shell out cash like some other orgs. 

It turned out his motivation was very clear - victory. The Swede wanted to go all the way, and he saw the potential in G2 to bring home the Worlds trophy for the West. Wanting to win was all fine and dandy, but collectively, the team still had some doubts. Based on what they knew, Martin’s character seemed out of place in the clown fiesta atmosphere of G2. But aside from the social aspect, they all felt plenty of reason to celebrate his arrival. Caps, for one, was excited to play with his old teammate. And everyone else held him in high regard as a player, even if they didn’t know him well as a person. Hell, lowkey or not, who wasn’t a Rekkles fanboy? 

\------------------------

The reality of the transfer didn’t settle in until the first team meet-up, despite the fact that they had all been queuing up together to practice in the offseason. Part of the staff’s job is to encourage good synergy, and whenever a new player joins the lineup, some “bonding” is in order. So, they started off simple - team dinner. 

“Alright, guys. I think I have to get ready soon. We are all going to dinner tonight as a team,” Jankos explained to his fans as he prepared to shut down his Twitch stream.

“What do you think, should I do my hair like Rekkles? Would it make me handsome? Probably not because I have these bald spots,” he said, pointing at his hairline emphatically. 

His eyes scanned the flood of messages in Twitch chat, all chanting “SIMP FEST” in unison.

“Simp fest? Pffft! Nooooo. I mean…I don’t know about the other guys, but I only simp for Miky,” he laughed at his own joke.

\-----------------------

The offseason was a nice opportunity to take a break from the fast-paced world of competitive gaming. However, due to the second wave of Covid, he felt trapped in his private apartment during the break. Jankos was looking forward to spending time with his teammates in person again. 

That night, they agreed on Korean BBQ. The Korean restaurants in Berlin would never add up to the ones in Korea, but it was as good as they could get for now. After passing his driving test, Jankos had gotten a car of his own, and the independence of getting around by himself was refreshing. He managed to find public parking near the meeting place, which was not an easy feat. 

While he had hoped that the first person he would see would be his beloved support, his eyes only spotted their other bot lane player. Rekkles stood there, in front of the restaurant, waiting for the others to arrive. His breath came in visible bursts of fog in the cold night, illuminated by the neon signage of the establishment. His hands were shoved into his jean pockets and he looked like a model torn straight from the page of a fashion magazine. 

_ No wonder Gucci collabed with them. Goddamn, _ Jankos thought, feeling reluctant to approach him. 

“Hey,” the jungler said, waving casually as he walked up to the other blonde.

“Oh, hey,” Rekkles smiled softly, “I’m glad you’re here. I was beginning to worry.”

“G2 lesson number one, we’re usually late. We blame Carlos, he’s on Spain time,” Jankos joked playfully.

“Knowing Caps, it’s probably his fault. I bet he woke up ten minutes ago. Back when we played together, it got to the point where I could tell how long he’d overslept by how messy his hair was,” Rekkles chuckled. 

Jankos offered his signature goofy smile in return. 

From across the street, he spied the rest of his team walking towards them. His smile turned into a grin as he caught sight of Mihael. 

“My handsome boyyyyyy,” he cooed, opening his arms and wrapping his support in a suffocating hug.

Caps was the only one to embrace Rekkles, the rest of them feeling too unfamiliar to do so. Everyone filed into the building and the hostess led them to their table. Rasmus took the spot next to their new ADC, chatting away with him about the latest builds to abuse. Mikyx sat on the opposite side of Rekkles, feeling like he should make some effort to get close to his new partner in the bottom lane. Jankos and Grabbz made fun of each other, sitting together on the other side of the table, while Wunder did his usual thing and ignored everybody. 

Miky had at least a certain level of familiarity with Rekkles from the very brief time he served as Fnatic’s support sub. But that felt like an eternity ago, so it may as well have never happened. So when the Swede paused his conversation with Caps and turned to face him, it was sort of jarring. But he played it cool despite being intimidated, not wanting to make their new teammate feel like a stranger. Wunder also seemed to show some interest in Martin as the night went on, picking his thoughts on one thing or another, even if he usually disagreed. Jankos could only think how their toplaner would silently enjoy having at least one voice of reason on the team besides himself. 

\--------------------------------------

It was time to properly prepare for the start of the season, so the team was back to their regular grind. It’s not like they all hadn’t been playing League in their off-time regardless. Well, minus Wunder, of course. What could they expect? The newest expansion of World of Warcraft was recently released. However, outside of scheduled practices at the gaming house, it seemed like everyone on the team was fighting to duo queue with Rekkles. And by Jankos’ perspective of “everyone”, he meant Miky. Jankos respected their ADC just as much as the next guy, but he couldn’t see what all the fuss was about. 

“Jankos please duo queue with Miky,” the robotic Microsoft voice read the Twitch donation message aloud.

“You know, that would be very nice, if that was possible to do,” Jankos laughed.

“If Miky is not watching anime, then  _ MAYBEEE,  _ just maybe he is playing League, but if he is playing League, then one hundred percent he is playing with Rekkles,” he said in his characteristically loud voice.

The Twitch chat proceeded to spam him with taunts about being jealous.

“It is actually kind of annoying, but I don’t know what I expected with such a handsome new teammate. Of course Miky would be stolen,” he joked along with his viewers.

Just moments after, he received a party invite. It was Rekkles. He laughed nervously, hesitating to accept the request. 

“Uh oh, boys. I think we’ve been stream sniped. It’s Rekkles,” he explained dramatically.

“What do you think? Should I play with my competition?”

He sat back in his chair for a moment, grinning and reading the chat.

“Yeah, you know what? I will follow his example: If you can’t beat them, join them,” he jeered, accepting the invitation.

‘ _ Get on discord,’ _ the ADC typed in the party chat.

He rarely used the team discord, but he reluctantly opened it up and tapped on the button to call his teammate. 

“Hey,” the Swede casually greeted.

“What’s up? Don’t you have anything better to do than watch my shitty streams,” the jungler teased lightheartedly.

“What are you talking about,” Rekkles asked, clearly puzzled.

Jankos looked into the camera at his Twitch audience, a look of visible confusion spreading across his features.

“Nothing! Nothing. Just crazy timing, man,” he explained with a tone of childish guilt.

“Were you trash talking me or something,” Rekkles chuckled.

“Hahah! What?! Me? Noooooooooooo.”

Silence.

Jankos mouthed an unspoken “yikes” to his viewers, unsure of what to say next.

“You and I haven’t been playing together like the others. Gotta work on our synergy. Don’t want a repeat of AllStars 2017,” Rekkles laughed softly. 

“That’s fair. Uh, you’re on stream by the way,” he thought it was only fair that he mentioned it. 

“Ok. I’ll be sure to save the confidential stuff for later, then.”

They were about twenty minutes into what had been more or less a normal game with some fairly standard banter. But of course, his subscribers weren’t satisfied to not troll him.

“5head problem solving advice! Just ask Rekkles for a threesome with Miky,” the computerized voice read off another donation message.

“Hey, Martin. My viewers said I should ask you for a threesome with Miky.”

“Probably just Xpeke trolling in disguise,” Rekkles laughed, “they can hear me, right?”

“Yeah.”

“Hey, Xpeke. The answer is yes,” the ADC teased.

“Ohhhh shit. Threeesome confirmed. Kappapride in the chat,” Jankos responded with sarcastic enthusiasm.

\---------------------------

The more time the team spent together in person, the more Jankos could see the extent of his new bot lane’s relationship. Mihael wanted to do everything with Rekkles, which was somewhat out of character for him. Normally, if they weren’t practicing, the support preferred to be alone in his room. But now, he followed Rekkles every chance he got. Which, due to the ADC’s withdrawn nature, wasn’t super often, but it was often enough. 

Jankos finally decided he would have to be proactive to get any time in with his friend. One afternoon, as they finished up scrims, Jankos grabbed Miky by the arm before he could even stand up from his chair. 

“Mikyyyyyyy,” he pleaded, pulling on him, “let’s go watch anime or something.”

The brunette smirked and shook his head at his dramatic display. 

The team atmosphere had undoubtedly shifted since Rekkles’ arrival. It wasn’t a negative change, but the forthcoming and boisterous nature of the team had died down significantly with the absence of Perkz. It was like everybody was too busy super-tryharding to impress their new “captain”. Caps was probably the least affected, all things considered, and Jankos tried to keep things light, but somehow his outbursts felt out of place now. So, they came less frequently. But today, he wasn’t making any exceptions. 

“Sorry, I can’t today. I actually have to go back and retake that driving exam.”

“Oh, shit! That’s today?!”

Marcin had been helping Mihael practice in his car off and on over the last couple of months, but he didn’t realize he was taking the test so soon.

Miky gave an affirmative nod.

“Well, good luck! Do you need a ride?”

“Nah, Grabbz already agreed to let me take his car. So, he’ll be there for moral support,” Mikyx waved as he headed out of the game room to hunt down their coach.

“ _ I _ can watch anime.”

The jungler spun around to see Rekkles still sitting in his chair, looking up at him.

“I don’t really want to watch anime,” Jankos admitted, “but it’s the only thing Miky says yes to. Besides, I didn’t think you were a weeb. That must be why you two are getting along so well. My handsome weeaboo bot laners.”

“I’m not, actually. I didn’t want to watch anime, either. I did want to talk to you, though. If that’s okay,” Rekkles said with a sigh.

“Yeah, uh...is everything alright,” Jankos asked with concern.

“Let’s go somewhere private.”

That was the first time Jankos had entered what used to be Perkz room. It was once a place where he often hung out with his friend, but now a place that felt foreign and off-limits. He stared at the giant flag of Sweden that was posted on the wall over the headboard. The matching blue color reflected in the AD carry’s eyes as he sat on his bed. 

“What’s wrong? It’s not bad news or anything. You can relax,” he smiled.

“Oh, uh. It’s just weird...this used to be Perkz-,” he cut himself off, not wanting to give the wrong impression.

But there was already a worried look strewn about Rekkles’ features.

“That’s the thing. I wasn’t even a part of G2 from the inside, but even from where I was on the outside versus now. I can tell things have changed, and I can tell it’s my fault. As someone who started on a team where I was the youngest, I’ve always had a lot of respect for the perspectives of older players. Now I am an older player, but I still feel at a loss in this situation. Because G2 was great, and I don’t want to be the factor that ends their greatness.”

“So you come to me cause I’m  _ ancient  _ old, right,” Jankos laughed.

Martin smiled.

“Something like that.”

Jankos sat at the end of the bed, and stared down at his bony knees, trying to find the words to say. 

“Weeeelllllllll,” he began, “I wasn’t always a part of this team, either. I had to be the noob at some point, too. And now look at me. I’m king of the jungle. I fucking carry content day. Everybody loves me,” he bragged sarcastically.

“But you’re  _ Rekkles _ , you know? I was only H2K Jankos, like nobody cared. But you came here with a great reputation, and everybody already loves you. So what if you’re different from Perkz? We all knew it would be like that. It would be worse if you came in here trying to be him.”

Martin seemed lost in thought for a moment, his gaze tracing over his own tattoos. He looked up to lock eyes with Marcin. 

“But do  _ you  _ think that way about me? As a teammate?”

“I think you expect too much from yourself,” Jankos replied honestly, “a big part of G2 is being brave enough to try crazy shit, and being even braver to laugh even when it fails. So, maybe leaving Fnatic for G2 was crazy, but if you fail we all laugh? Wait...this analogy is not working out.”

Rekkles laughed despite himself.

“So, you think everything is okay? There’s nothing I can do to improve,” he asked.

“Yeah, everything seems fine to me. Different, but fine. I mean, except for you stealing my boy Miky, but I can forgive you. He always denied my love, anyway.”

“I guess I wanted to talk to you about it because you seemed to change the most,” Rekkles explained.

“What do you mean?”

“Like how you are in person now, it’s different from your streams. Even back when I played with you at Allstars, you were the same loud, funny guy in person. But now it feels like you’re holding back.”

“It must be my inner Rekkles fanboy,” he shrugged, knowing that was not the answer at all.

“Wait, you watch my streams,” he doubled back.

Rekkles looked at the bed, suddenly unable to meet his teammate’s stare.

“Yeah, it’s awkward. Before I came here, I tried to watch whenever any of you guys streamed, to get to know you better as people. And you were the person I was most looking forward to playing with. Besides Caps, of course.”

“Wow. Finally someone appreciates me around here. Maybe you will be my new favorite bot laner,” the jungler teased.

“I’ll try my best,” Martin smirked.


	2. Surfacing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Different feelings come to light among the team members, while others are just beginning to surface.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Damn, you people sure do like your LEC pairings! Thank you so much for the overwhelming support <3

He thought it was obvious, but the truth was that Jankos missed Perkz. In the end, the intangibles mattered more than he could have imagined, and no amount of respect he held for Rekkles could fill that void. Even prior to Jankos joining G2 a couple years back, he and Perkz had similar personalities, and they complemented each other. The EU could always count on them for spicy trash talk on the sidelines. That only proved more true when they became teammates. Despite forming a bond with all of the G2 members, none of them could match up to the synergy he had with his best friend Luka. 

In the first week of the Spring Split, they went 0 - 2, which was disappointing for all of them. They’d had promising scrim results, but that’s just the game of League for you. Most of the players on G2 were optimistic enough to take a loss and still be cocky enough to know they would crush it next time. But Rekkles seemed pretty damaged by the rough start. Back at the gaming house after the matches, they sat down to go over VODs and have a general team discussion regarding the performance. Jankos noticed how closed off the ADC appeared, although he did try his best to pitch in useful feedback. As soon as the coaching staff set them free, Rekkles immediately sulked off to his room. 

“Damn. Is it usually like this,” Wunder asked Caps curiously.

The midlaner laughed nervously, nodding his head.

“Yeah, but quite that bad normally.”

“I’d be feeling the pressure, too. New team, lots of expectations,” Mikyx sympathized, “I can see why.”

Most of the time Jankos stayed at his apartment, but G2 kept his room open for him in the gaming house. Sometimes, after long days on the rift - or late nights with too much vodka, it was more convenient to stay over. He wasn’t planning to stay this time, though. The atmosphere felt too heavy for his liking. He hung around with Miky for a little while after, both of them casually chatting while simultaneously doing other things on their phones. He had been messaging Perkz since the end of their games. The ex captain was the first to reach out, making some typical jab about their loss. 

Perkz:  _ I knew you guys would suffer without me, but taking a loss to Schalke? Goddamn. _

Jankos:  _ I think Rekkles is crying in his room right now. _

Perkz:  _ LOL _

Jankos:  _ Come on, Jerkz. I’m serious. I feel kind of bad. _

Perkz:  _ Since I’m gone, you’re the main clown left. Just go in there and be yourself, your stupidity will be enough to cheer him up. _

Jankos:  _ WOW  _

Jankos sighed, getting up from the couch. Miky looked up at him curiously.

“I’m gonna go check on him,” the blonde explained.

“Good luck,” Miky offered, grimacing slightly. Even he could sense how heavy the aura was around Rekkles after their loss, and that was not something he was about to interfere with. 

The jungler knocked on the door lightly, not wanting to barge in. He waited for a response.

A sniffled “come in” echoed from within the room, and he braced himself before opening the door gently. He peeked in through the crack before fully entering. Rekkles was sitting up on his bed with his knees pulled to his chest and a duvet wrapped snugly around him. A box of tissues, and a couple of crumpled up ones lay beside him. His eyes were red and his cheeks were tear-stained. 

All of this and he was still easily the most handsome guy on the team, Jankos noted.

“Is it cool if we talk for a minute,” he asked, doing his best to quiet the typically booming volume of his voice.

The Swede nodded, and swiped a tear drop from his cheek with the back of his hand.

“I’m sorry you have to see me like this,” he tried to joke, adjusting himself on the bed.

Jankos took a seat on the edge of the mattress. 

“I don’t know what you mean? You still look perfectly handsome to me.”

“Thanks, mom,” Rekkles smiled weakly.

“I just wanted to say, I know we lost to some pretty shitty teams out there tonight. But I don’t think you should blame yourself. We win as a team, we lose as a team. Nobody wants you to take that responsibility. We’re still a new team, and even if practice has been going well, we are learning how to play together on stage and in high pressure situations. It’s a totally different game.”

“I know, but I feel bad for reasons beyond just losing. I feel like now especially, all eyes are on me to prove that my move was the right move. So when I lose, I look like I made the wrong decision. Like I fucked up for Fnatic and for G2, and I’m letting down my fans.”

“Fuck those haters. If they don’t love you even when you’re the biggest loser ever, then they aren’t your real fans. Look at me, I’m ugly and everyone makes fun of my Lee Sin, but I’ve still got a lot of awesome people that support me.”

“Another thing is, it seems like nobody on the team is critiquing me properly, and I’m not able to grow because of that,” Martin explained, “It's like you guys aren’t being completely open with me, and it’s frustrating.”

“Probably because we admire you.”

Martin met his gaze, and for a brief moment Jankos could only read uncertainty in his expression.

“BUT, if you want critique I can give you critique. Your shotcalling is whack, bro! And by whack, I mean it doesn’t exist,” Jankos teased.

“I guess I didn’t want to be asking too much of you guys. Like I’m the new person, I don’t want to come off as pushy, but...I see what you mean.”

“Seeeeeeeee? And then if you open up to us more, we’ll open up to you more. Give and take or something like that they say in English, right,” Jankos shrugged.

Rekkles nodded in agreement, his mood finally calming down.

“If we’re on that note. What happened with that missed smite on Baron, though,” he joked playfully with the jungler.

“Oh shit! Okay. Well, what about - what about that first blood, huh? My world class ADC was over-extending,” Jankos replied.

“I was waiting for the First Blood King to come gank bot-side with me,” Martin smirked. 

“I’ll gank bot with you anytime,” Jankos winked, “you’ve just got to ask.”

The jungler got up and stretched, more than ready to head off to his room for bed. As he made for the door, Rekkles called out one last thing behind him.

“By the way, I admire you, too.”

\----------------------------------------

It was nice to know that he could at least have somewhat of an emotional breakthrough with a stoic person like Rekkles, and it did ease the tension in their playstyle going forward. The AD carry was more forthcoming with team feedback, and the team started to ask more from him, too. The environment for growth had improved since he had let down his walls and taken some of Jankos’ advice. This openness slowly seeped its way into their relationships outside of the game, as well. 

Unfortunately for Jankos, when Rekkles became more receptive to building friendships with his teammates, that’s exactly what happened. And it’s not like Jankos didn’t want him to make friends, but why did he have to pick Miky? In the beginning, whenever Mihael tried to spend time with Rekkles, he could sense the distance in his demeanor, which had slowed his attempts at hanging out with the newcomer. Miky wasn’t the type to force something that wasn’t going to come naturally, so during that time he chose to back off. But the mood had changed, and now Martin was the one initiating interactions with him. 

Jankos had never really spent much time with Caps or Wunder to begin with. Now with Perkz gone and Miky swept off his feet, he had nobody to spend time with. Any time he would text his support or ask him directly to go out and do something together, he was already booked with Rekkles. He didn’t understand why he couldn't just tag along and have it be the three of them, but he didn’t push the subject. It’s not as if he couldn’t hang out with the other members, but considering Caps was in 24/7 League is life mode and Wunder was always busy raiding in WoW, it seemed unlikely.

\------------------------------

Jankos:  _ Send nudes. _

Perkz:  _ I’m out right now. Maybe later ;o _

Jankos:  _ I wish. I’m so fucking borrrred. _

Perkz:  _ What’s wrong? Did your loud voice scare everyone off? _

Jankos:  _ My handsome bot laners are on a date and Caps and Wunder are no-lifing it in their rooms.  _

Perkz:  _ I mean, we knew this would happen. _

Jankos:  _ COME BACK TO EU  _ 😭  _ I HOPE YOU’RE ENJOYING YOUR RETIREMENT HOME, JERKZ.  _

Perkz:  _ Ty. Love you, too. _

\------------------------------

Meanwhile, Mikyx and Rekkles went for lunch at a nearby burger joint. Mihael was a notoriously picky eater, so “fast food” was his regular go-to. They sat down at a table and chatted away while they waited for their orders, watching the people seated outside and feeling glad to be inside and out of the cold. 

“What food do you miss the most from Sweden,” the support asked curiously.

“Hm,” he stopped to think for a moment, “my mom’s cooking is pretty OP.”

“I basically only ate stuff like this even at home, so I can’t complain,” Miky responded.

“Is Jankos good at cooking? He mentioned something about going to school for that, no?”

“In the gaming house, he only cooks simple things for himself. But sometimes he makes stuff for us on special occasions. He made cookies for my birthday, and they were surprisingly good,” Miky explained.

“He must really like you,” Rekkles smiled before popping a french fry into his mouth.

“You mean you couldn’t tell that already,” the brunette said sarcastically.

They both laughed.

“It must be nice having a friend on the team who adores you so much. Someone to make you feel special, you know.”

“Jankos is hilarious. But he’s also embarrassing and loud, and clingy. Besides, don’t you feel special all the time? You’re like a celebrity practically. I wouldn’t be shocked if every single one of us already asked you for an autograph,” Miky grinned.

“Well, it’s not one person in particular like that. When it comes from all directions, it’s hard to form an intimate bond with just a single friend,” he said, somewhat wistfully.

They sat in silence for a few moments, quietly eating their food and taking in the sounds of the bustling eatery.

“If - if you wanted someone like that...I could be your person,” Miky offered shyly, a slight tinge of pink on his cheeks.

Rekkles smiled thoughtfully in lieu of giving a direct answer, but that was good enough for the support.

\---------------------------------------

“You guys are back! Finally! Next time, if you go on a date, please invite me. I don’t even care about being the third wheel,” Jankos said as the two wandered into the lounge where he had been sitting around for the last couple of hours, killing time on his phone. 

“Bored or something,” Rekkles asked casually.

“Yeah, it’s our day off and there’s nothing to do,” he said, getting up to come and hang all over his support like usual, wrapping his arms around his waist and hugging him from behind.

Mihael sighed and endured it like usual.

\-----------------------------------

Jankos had opted to stay the night at the gaming house after he'd somehow convinced Miky to spend some time with him. The two of them ended up binge watching nearly 20 episodes of anime. Since it was almost 1AM by the time they finished, he called it a night and decided he was too lazy to drive home. The jungler stripped down to his underwear and grabbed a towel for a quick shower. He made his way to the bathroom down the hall and opened up the door with his eyes half closed.

“Uh, sorry?”

Jankos looked up to see a confused and half naked Rekkles checking himself over in the mirror. 

“Fancy meeting you here,” Jankos joked flirtatiously to play off his mistake, “sorry, just needed a shower. Don’t worry, by the way. I won’t tell anybody. If I looked as handsome as you, I would sit in the mirror and stare at myself, too,” he laughed.

“I was about to take a shower, too.”

“I would make a joke about how we could do it together to save water and I could just blindfold myself like Lee Sin, but we all know how bad my Lee Sin is, so that would end in disaster.”

“Not to mention the fact that  I would probably go blind if I had to witness something like that,” Rekkles mocked.

“Seriously, man? Am I that bad,” he looked down at his body, still trying to hide behind the other side of the door.

“Hm, I don’t know. Get in here so I can take a proper look,” the ADC said slyly, grabbing Jankos by the wrist and yanking him fully inside the bathroom.

Jankos backed up against the door nervously, closing it behind himself. 

“Why would you do that, man? Now how the fuck am I supposed to walk out of this bathroom without it looking suspicious,” he said, trying to keep his volume to a minimum.

Martin struggled not to laugh at Marcin’s flustered reaction.

“Well, since you’re already in here, then we might as well,” Rekkles continued, trying to embarrass him further.

“No way. I’m saving my shower virginity for Miky,” Marcin rebutted.

“Oh, about that. I think your “handsome boy” has a crush on me,” Martin whispered.

Jankos looked betrayed, but it was subtle and hidden away.

“Yeah, I kind of saw that happening. But what specifically makes you say this,” he asked.

“Today at lunch-”

“You mean on your date,” Jankos interrupted.

“It wasn’t a date. At lunch, he got all nervous and asked me if he could be my special person on the team. He was blushing and even tripped over his words. It was cute,” Rekkles explained.

“What did you say to him,” the jungler asked, almost breathless.

“I didn’t say anything,” Martin shrugged.

“That's a pretty cruel thing to tell me, just to scam me into showering with you. I didn’t think you were so desperate.”

“Hey, I’m only telling you so you know. I don’t think he likes you the same way you like him. That’s all. You can even take a shower first, I’ll leave.” 

“I’m not  _ that  _ stupid, it was never a mutual thing between Miky and I. It’s just a bromance, anyways. And anyone could have guessed that he would fall for you,” Jankos replied calmly.

“Why’s that?”

“Because you’re Rekkles.”

“You keep saying that, but I fail to see the point.”

“Shut up. You’re allowed to have an ego, okay,” Jankos said bluntly.

“If that’s the case, then I can assume you’re gonna say yes to a shower with me,” Rekkles said daringly.

“Look, I don’t know about the culture in Sweden, but in Poland that is not something you say to a guy when you have him naked and cornered in a bathroom. Wait, no, that's not something you say to a guy at all,” Jankos laughed softly.

“So, yes?”

“NO! Everybody here thinks  _ I’m  _ the freak. But now I know - you’re a closet weirdo. It’s always the quiet ones,” Jankos smirked, shaking his head.

“Suit yourself,” Rekkles clicked his tongue.

Jankos snuck out of the bathroom as stealthily as possible, thanking the gods that he had the towel in his grasp to hide the hard-on he’d gotten during that awkward, half naked encounter.

_ This is not good.  _


	3. Midnight Snacc

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yet another strange encounter between Jankos and Rekkles.

Despite the growing confusion regarding their personal relationships, the team had gradually gotten their act together in the LEC. By the fourth week, they were back on top, taking down any opponent who stood in their way. This included their match against Fnatic, which felt like a personal win for Rekkles. It brought him some relief to prove to himself and to the doubters that he had joined the superior organization. He glanced back at the audience as they walked off stage, the crowd still cheering wildly. He wondered if any of the fans wearing orange and black were still supporting him somehow. And he tried to ignore the opposing thoughts that crept in to answer his own question. 

“I’d say this victory counts as a special occasion,” the ADC said to Miky, slinging an arm around his shoulders. 

“Do you think Jankos would make me something special,” he laughed.

The support smiled, and shrugged his shoulders, leaning into the blonde’s body as they sat in the lounge backstage. They waited to undergo the prolonged post-game process of interviews and discussions. 

“I bet that feels good, doesn’t it,” Jankos exclaimed, coming up behind the two on the couch and patting Rekkles lightly on the head, “to show up your old team like that.”

The Swede craned his neck back to look up at the jungler.

“It does. Are you gonna cook me something to celebrate,” he asked, a cheeky smile on his face.

“Why would I do that,” Jankos raised an eyebrow, “I only cook for Miky.”

“That’s a lie,” Caps said, plopping down on the couch next to Wunder, “he’s cooked for me a few times. And I don’t even remember what the reason was, to be honest.”

“WOOOoooooowwww, Caps! So I made you lunch like three - maybe four times because I’m a nice guy and you’re a helpless mama’s boy and I didn’t want you to starve. And you just expose me like this? This is the thanks I get,” Marcin teased, poking at the mid laners’ ribs while he fought to fend him off, giggling.

“I’m sort of offended now. I don’t think you’ve ever made me anything, Jankos,” Wunder pointed out.

“That’s because you’re mean to me,” he explained plainly.

“I’m the one who has to sit next to you  _ all day _ in scrims and on stage. Do you know what that will do to a guy? It’s not good for my sanity,” the toplaner defended. 

“See what I mean,” Jankos pointed accusingly, “trying to ask me for a favor while flaming me. Classic Wunder.”

“A favor? At this point, it’s a consolation prize for putting up with you,” Wunder laughed.

Jankos smiled and shook his head.

“Bullies. All of you,” he sighed.

“Miky, comfort me,” he sat down on the opposite side of his support, and peeled Rekkles’ arm off of the brunette’s shoulders so he could steal that spot for himself. 

He snuggled up to Miky. The Slovenian could only adjust his glasses and look up at the rest of the team with a helpless expression while the jungler buried his face into the crook of his neck.

\----------------------------------------------

Later that evening, at around 4AM, everyone was sound asleep in the G2 gaming house. Well, all but one. That was, until Rekkles woke up to the sound of muffled clamoring coming from somewhere within the flat. He was easily the lightest sleeper of them all. He sat there in bed for a moment, straining his ears to see if the noise was only part of a dream. He heard nothing but silence. However, he knew that he wouldn’t be able to go back to bed until he at least checked. Swinging his legs around, he got up. His feet protested the lack of socks against the cold wooden floor, but he couldn’t be bothered. As quietly as he could, he crept down the hall, making his way towards the common areas. He rounded the corner and noticed that the light was on in the kitchen. When he got closer, he heard soft shuffling. Maybe it was just someone getting a midnight snack? Probably Caps, half asleep, standing in front of the open fridge with his eyes closed, eating shredded cheese straight from the bag. 

Rekkles poked his head around the corner and peeked into the kitchen. Instead of Caps, it was Jankos, covered in flour, wearing an apron over his pajamas. He was too focused on rolling out cookie dough to notice the AD carry’s presence. Martin smiled at the sight. 

“Are those for me,” he whispered quietly, stepping into view.

Jankos jumped and clutched a hand to his chest dramatically, evidently startled by his teammate.

“You gave me a fucking heart attack,” he hissed under his breath, “I’m G2 senior, you have to be careful of these things,” he joked.

“You look so cute,” Rekkles purred, reaching behind him to tug gently at the bow that fastened the apron around his thin waist.

“Pffft. You ruined your own surprise, by the way,” Jankos huffed, setting the rolling pin aside and dusting some flour off of his hands.

“They  _ are  _ for me?  _ Really, _ ” he asked innocently. 

Rekkles’ innocence never came off the same way Caps’ did. It felt like a formality rather than his true nature. But the jungler still found it endearing, nonetheless. 

“Yeah, but now I have to give them to Wunder,” Jankos smirked, “They won’t taste as good now that the element of surprise is gone. That’s just facts.”

Rekkles pouted in an exaggerated manner and stepped behind Marcin. He snaked his intricately tattooed arms around his waist, and pressed their bodies together. 

“Fine, but only if you have a different surprise in mind for me,” he whispered coyly into his ear.

Jankos fought not to react to the shiver that jolted down his spine, hot breath pricking at his neck like pins and needles. 

“I see Xpeke taught you well,” Jankos laughed softly, pushing his hips back with some force to try and shake off Martin. 

“Jeeze, watch where you’re throwing it back,” Rekkles teased, releasing his hold.

“You should know better than to try and flank a jungler. That’s my job,” Jankos winked.

Rekkles smirked, and turned his attention back to the messy countertop. This was much to the relief of Marcin, who was currently dealing with a shameful predicament. He mentally willed himself to calm down, hoping that Martin wouldn’t notice the way his body had reacted to his touch. For a second, it bothered him that the ADC was able to do something like that as a joke and walk away completely unaffected. But wasn’t it all for fun when he flirted, too? It was a new experience for Jankos to be on the receiving end of it. But he settled for blaming it on being tired and delusional, and maybe a little bit lonely. 

“Do you need help,” Rekkles offered.

“Naah. I’ve seen Fnatic’s content. Anytime the team had to do anything, you were like the kid in the class project who just stands there and watches everyone do the work,” Jankos said playfully.

“I wouldn’t mind watching you,” the AD carry stood back, crossing his arms over his chest, examining the jungler for a reaction.

The last thing Jankos wanted right now was the Swede’s eyes on him. He himself was too scared to check, but he knew for a fact, that his erection was probably noticeable through his thin pajama pants and the meager cover that the apron offered. He pressed the front of his hips against the counter for safety, not daring to face his colleague. 

“Jankos, you’re very outgoing but you act differently around me. Do I bother you or something,” he asked genuinely.

“To be honest, I’m adjusting to the fact that I’m not the only one doing the flirting now. I’m used to being the guy saying weird things, not hearing them. I didn’t expect you to be like that at all,” he replied.

“How could I not be? Growing up on teams with people like Peke and Febi,” Rekkles said with a sense of nostalgia. 

“Truuuuuue,” Jankos nodded, pressing a cookie cutter into the rolled out dough.

“But then again, you always target the cute asian ones like Deft or Reignover,” the jungler teased.

“Hm, you’re right,” he said thoughtfully, thinking about his track record, “maybe I have a type.”

“That sucks for Miky. He’ll be heartbroken,” Marcin joked.

Rekkles laughed under his breath and shook his head.

“Well, if you’re sure you don’t want help, I’m gonna go back to bed.”

“Sweet dreams,” Jankos whispered, placing another confection onto the baking sheet.

Rekkles spared one more curious look at the counter before turning to leave, smiling to himself as he noticed the shape of the cookies - hearts.

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all very much for your comments and kudos.   
> Short chapter, but I had fun with it, and I hope you do, too!


	4. It's a Date

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Plans don't always go as planned. Sometimes, you end up on a date with your AD carry instead of your support.

Every year, spring split coincided with Valentine’s Day. And if Jankos knew his team, it would pass like any other day. The players never really had a tradition of celebrating this “holiday”, but the jungler always used it as an opportunity to try and woo his handsome support. Did his tactics ever work? Not any more than his usual advances. But regardless, it was worth it for some quality time spent with his friend. This year, Valentine’s Day fell on a weekend, which was perfect, because he had more extravagant plans than usual for Miky and himself. That is, if he could convince him to comply. And more importantly, if Rekkles hadn’t already asked him out.

He rolled out of bed that morning, thinking about how lonely this day always used to make him feel. A small smile graced his lips as he took a moment to appreciate all of the friendships he built in G2, even if one of the most important ones was all the way across the Atlantic. 

Jankos:  _ Happy Valentine’s Day, bb  _ 😘

Perkz:  _ I thought you’d forget because of the time difference. It’s like exactly midnight here  _ ❤️ 

Jankos:  _ It’s the power of true love, woke me up just in time. _

Perkz:  _ So, what are you doing for Miky this year? _

Jankos:  _ If it actually happens, I’ll send pics. _

Perkz:  _ I’ll make an OnlyFans just to sell them  _ 🤡

\----------------------------

Jankos drove to the G2 gaming house, and bumped into Grabbz on the walk in. The coach was struggling to carry a huge box that was overflowing with various gifts.

“Grooooaaaaaabbzzz,” Jankos called, “are those all for meeeee? You shouldn’t have!”

“Yeah, they’re totally yours. You carry it,” Fabian grunted.

“No, thank you,” he dodged, “but I can at least get the door for you.”

They entered the foyer together, and Grabbz unceremoniously dropped the cumbersome package to the floor. 

“Jesus! What is all of this shit? You could fit two of me in this box,” Marcin exclaimed.

“I wish it only weighed two of you, spaghetti boy,” Grabbz huffed, trying to catch his breath.

“You are just out of shape. Don’t flame me!”

Pushing the packed box through the rest of the house, they eventually slid it all the way into the gaming room where Caps, Rekkles, and Miky were hanging out. Wunder was of course dedicating all of his free time to WoW, hiding away in his room. 

“What is all that for,” Miky glanced over in surprise.

Caps tore his eyes away from his screen for a moment to look back at whatever “all that” was, snickering as soon as he spotted it.

“Is that what day it is,” Caps asked curiously.

“Oh shit. It is,” Rekkles quickly tabbed out and checked the calendar on his PC.

“Yep. I know what that is,” Caps chuckled, “you should’ve seen it at Fnatic. It was WAYYYY worse. One time, there were enough presents to fill a whole room.”

“Yeah, they were all piling up outside of the G2 office building downtown. Carlos ordered me to clear them out before it got too bad, and I didn’t want them to go to waste.”

“Wait, you’re saying this is fanmail?! We’ve never gotten fanmail,” Jankos cried indignantly, plucking one of the cliche stuffed teddies from the box and reading the tag: ‘To: Rekkles’. 

He sifted through a few more items, all of which were addressed to the famed AD carry. 

“It’s all for Rekkles!”

“Yeah. That sounds about right,” Caps nodded.

“You can have it,” Rekkles offered.

“That’s so cold! What about all of your Rekky fanboys?! There’s probably something from Selfmade in here,” Jankos teased.

“I’m just kidding, you can leave it there. I’ll sort through it later,” Martin said, not looking away from the game he was playing with his midlaner.

“Miikkkyyyyyyy,” Jankos cooed, walking behind his support’s chair and gently massaging his shoulders.

Mihael smiled and rolled his eyes.

“Yes, Jankos,” he looked up at him.

“You know that brown suit you got in China. The one you looked extra handsome in?”

“Yes? What about it?”

“What if I told you there was an occasion tonight for you to wear it,” the jungler said slyly.

“Is this the part where you joke about me putting it on just so you can take it off,” the support laughed.

“No, not this time! This is the part where I ask you to go out with me tonight. I made a reservation somewhere special.”

Rekkles looked away from his game, staring down his two teammates like Miky’s answer was the most important thing to him. In the spanse of him not paying attention, he got ganked, but he still didn’t go back to playing.

“My god, man! You’re feeding,” Rasmus yelped.

Jankos pouted and put on his cutest begging face.

“Actually, I already had plans today. Some of the boys from my old roster on Misfits all agreed to meet downtown tonight. I hadn’t even realized today was Valentine’s Day. Sorry, it’s been forever since we’ve all gotten together. I’d feel too guilty to bail. It was hard enough to coordinate a day that worked for all of us.”

Jankos sighed, but he understood completely. 

“It’s cool, man. Have fun! But tell Maxlore I’m better than him,” he laughed, “and I still expect you to send me pics of you in your suit later tonight. If I’m spending today alone, I’m gonna at least need some fap material.”

Miky smiled, brushing off the crude remark.

“I have a suit, too, you know,” Rekkles chimed in with a cheeky smirk.

“No way! I’m willing to spend a lot of money on Miky and get cockblocked because he is my bro, and he is worth it. But I don’t know you like that,” Jankos tutted.

“On that logic, maybe you should go with him, then you will get the chance to know him like that,” Caps shrugged, carrying the game despite their one man deficit. 

Mikyx pretended not to care. Who was he to get in the way of “team bonding”? But it did bother him that Rekkles was so eager to stand in as his replacement for Jankos. 

Jankos searched his support’s face for approval.

“I don’t know. What do you think, Miky?”

“Sure. Whatever,” he replied blankly.

“Don’t worry, Miky. The next time you’re free I’ll take you out somewhere, just the two of us. It doesn’t have to be Valentine’s Day for me to prove my undying love,” Jankos assured him dramatically.

“Alright,” Miky smiled slightly, not wanting to reveal that it was in fact his jealousy over Rekkles that was putting a damper on his mood, rather than the missed out date.

“Fine, then. You can come, Rekkles. But only because it was difficult to get this reservation, and I don’t want to cancel it. I’ll pick you up at 7,” the jungler replied begrudgingly. 

\-------------------------

He sighed as he pulled up in front of the gaming house once again that evening. He cursed himself for agreeing to this dumb idea. If he could take it back, he would. He thought of how awkward this night could potentially turn out. 

_ He’s Rekkles, but you’re Jankos - First Blood King! You have to assert your dominance. Don’t let him intimidate you. But you can’t do anything, think about Miky. Oh no, but what if he does something,  _ conflicting thoughts raced through his head. 

Jankos:  _ I’m waiting downstairs. _

Rekkles:  _ One sec. Coming. _

Marcin was wearing the blue suit he’d gotten at Worlds. Truth be told, this was the first occasion he was able to put it to use. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Martin leisurely walking up to his car. Jankos had seen pictures of him in suits before from his social media. An attractive guy in a sharp outfit. This night was no exception. He rolled down the passenger side window. 

“I know you probably spent ages trying to look perfect for me, but we’re gonna be late! Let’s goooo,” he hollered.

“I can’t run in dress shoes,” he explained, sliding into the front seat, “but I trust your crazy slav driving will get us there on time, no?”

“Buckle up and we’ll find out,” Jankos smirked.

\----------------------------------------------

They managed to arrive just on time, shuffling into the entrance. Rekkles looked down, avoiding the curious stares they received from various patrons as they sat at their table. 

“Jesus! This place is crazy expensive, dude,” Martin remarked as he flipped through the menu, “you must like Miky more than I thought if you were going to pay.”

“Well, I  _ love _ Miky, first of all. The only thing I love more than him is food. But don’t worry, I’ll pay for you, too. You’re my guest, so just get whatever,” Jankos smiled.

“Are you getting a drink,” the Swede asked curiously.

“Noooooooooo, no. Wine doesn’t really do it for me. More of a vodka guy. Why? Trying to get me drunk and take me home,” he teased.

Rekkles shook his head, chuckling softly.

It took awhile to decipher all of the foreign dishes that they couldn’t exactly pronounce, but they finally placed their orders.

“You two might be the best looking couple here tonight,” their waitress smiled as she collected their menus.

“UHHH,” Jankos began to stammer.

But before another word could escape his lips, Martin kicked him roughly in the shin.

“Thank you. I don’t know how I managed to get him, honestly,” Rekkles replied with a charming grin on his face as he cast a sidelong glance at the jungler.

As she walked away, he bent down, rubbing the sore spot on his leg. 

“You don’t have to be so aggressive,” Jankos hissed, “Fuck. You should’ve played football instead of League. Your talent is wasted.”

“It seems more suspicious if you deny it. Don’t you think,” Martin answered.

“No. I think as grown men it’s perfectly normal to say that we are just friends,” Jankos shrugged, “but whatever. It’s not a big deal, I just wish you would ask me out like a normal person instead of role playing in a restaurant for a night,” he joked.

They talked about the team and the split. Regular, friendly conversation over dinner. They argued about what should be the next crazy move for G2 to test out before play-offs. Jankos tried to persuade Rekkles to switch roles with him for a game so that he could get the chance to play bot lane with his beloved Miky on stage. While Rekkles didn’t doubt his jungling abilities, considering all of the games he played off-season, he sincerely doubted Marcin’s capability as an ADC. 

“I’ve seen your off-role. It’s embarrassing,” Martin tiffed.

“Yeah, actually. You’re right. I can’t even deny that. Maybe if we ever play for comic relief,” he laughed.

They were waiting on the check when the waitress surprised them with a dessert. She gingerly placed a chocolate torte on the table between them.

She noticed Jankos’ look of confusion, and clarified.

“Oh, this is a special thing we do for Valentine’s day. Shared dessert for the couples.”

“Uh, thanks,” he answered.

“Aren’t you glad I stopped you from saying anything now,” Rekkles giggled as Jankos eagerly took a bite of the sweet.

The jungler nodded fervently.

“Oh my god, it’s so fucking good. Try it!”

The Swede placed his elbows on the table and leaned in, closing his eyes and opening his mouth. 

Marcin sighed and held up a bite for his teammate, watching with bated breath as his lips closed around the spoon. Martin locked eyes with the jungler, casting a seductive stare before pulling back. Jankos awkwardly averted his gaze, pretending not to notice.

\--------------------------

“Tell Miky I love him,” Jankos smiled as they pulled up near the gaming house.

“If you come up with me, you can tell him yourself,” Rekkles said dangerously, placing a hand on his colleague’s thigh.

“Maybe you think I’m this fun guy who is willing to do anything just because my brand is a little gay, but I’m not trying to fuck anything up with Miky. He’s my best friend and if he likes you, I can’t,” Jankos said dismissively, pushing Martin’s hand away.

It stung. Rekkles had never been rejected so directly. Much less over something like this. It’s not as if he asked their support to have a crush on him. 

“I’m sorry,” he sighed, a worried look on his face, “I made an error in judgement, I guess. That night in the kitchen I thought - forget it. Again, I’m sorry. Thanks for dinner,” he got out of the car, closing the door behind himself defeatedly. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry in advance for the angst levels. Yikes. The end of this really hurts my soul. I hate writing moments like that.


	5. Weight Lifted

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Procrastinating is never a good form of conflict resolution.

Jankos:  _ Wtf just happened? _

Perkz:  _ Idk. You tell me… _

Jankos:  _ Rekkles made a move on me. And I think I might have hurt his feelings. _

Perkz:  _ What? Gross. Doesn’t he know there are 3 other much more attractive people on the team to choose from? lol _

Jankos:  _ You’re such a good friend, you know that?  _ 😥

Perkz:  _ Jk. What did you do? _

Jankos:  _ I told him off, basically. _

Perkz:  _ Why? _

Jankos:  _ I think Miky really likes him. If anything ever happened, he would hate me for sure. _

Perkz:  _ But how do you feel? _

Jankos:  _ Idk… _

Perkz:  _ Oh shit, Jankos. Srsly?  _ 😬

Jankos:  _ Yeah. I know. GG.  _

Perkz:  _ You’ve gotta talk to Miky. _

Jankos:  _ I guess, yeah. _

\---------------------------------------

After showering and trying to clear his head, Rekkles went back to his room. He sat up late into the evening going through all of his fan mail. As shitty as he felt after the way the night ended with Jankos, receiving so much love from his supporters always cheered him up. Grabbing a gigantic stuffed bear that had been sent to him, he leaned towards his night stand and flipped off the light. He cuddled up with the plush animal and laughed sadly at the ironic thought that crossed his mind. Back in Fnatic, his jungler loved him the most, and now it seemed the opposite. It made him miss his old team more than usual. But he closed his eyes and tried to sleep, praying he would forget about everything that had happened by morning. 

\-------------------------------

The next day, everything was back to normal, or at least everyone pretended it was. The team was all present at the G2 house for scheduled scrimaging. 

“Did you guys have fun last night? I didn’t even hear you come home,” Caps asked Rekkles and Jankos.

Rekkles was never very good at betraying his feelings, so he didn’t say anything, deciding to let Jankos answer for the both of them.

“Yeah. The food was really good,” Jankos blurted out, trying to cover for the empty space that the AD carry had left hanging.

“Okay,” Wunder said awkwardly.

Caps wasn’t one to pry, so he dropped the subject. But Miky didn’t seem to get the memo. 

“That’s it,” he asked curiously.

“I mean, that’s what you do at a restaurant, right? You eat,” Jankos said nervously.

“Alright,” Miky shrugged, letting it go.

Hours felt like days as they played through their games. As soon as scrims were over, Rekkles quickly excused himself, heading off to his room. Caps watched him as he went, casting a suspicious glance over to Wunder, who looked equally baffled.

“I know that Rekkles,” Caps commented, “that is unhappy Rekkles.”

“Damn, Jankos. What did you do to the guy,” Wunder teased.

“Yeah, sure. Blame me,” he answered sarcastically, but he couldn’t disguise the guilt on his face. 

Miky sensed that something had to be wrong, and grabbed the jungler by the arm, leading him to his room. He quietly shut the door behind them and sat on the bed.

“Talk to me. I know you’re hiding something,” Mihael began.

“Miky, please. I really don’t want to talk about it.”

“We’re best friends. You’ve always shared everything with me. Even things I didn’t want to know,” Miky replied.

“But this is different.”

“Why is it different all of a sudden?”

“Because you like him so much,” Marcin explained.

“Who said I-”

“It’s okay, Miky. I don’t care. Your happiness comes first, that’s why I-”

Miky blushed furiously, realizing that somehow Jankos knew about his feelings for their ADC. 

“How do you know,” he interrupted.

“It’s obvious, silly. You wanna be with him 24/7. Well, he also told me what you said to him. I think it’s pretty adorable,” Jankos rambled.

“He told you?! I wanna die...I’m so embarrassed,” Miky grumbled, slumping backwards onto his bed like a corpse. 

“You know those things don’t bother me. Like I said, it’s cute.”

“So, what don’t you wanna tell me? You know a secret of mine, now out with yours,” the support urged.

“I feel so bad, Mikyyyyyy. I don’t know what to doooooooooo,” he groaned, rocking uncomfortably in the computer chair.

“Just say it.”

“He’s been flirting with me so hard. And last night it was like, a lot, and I had to tell him to cut it out. But he’s Rekkles, you know, who wouldn’t like him? I think he’s cool and handsome just like everybody else does, but I had to awkwardly turn him away and he probably hates me now,” he said quickly, stringing his words together unnaturally. 

“Wait. What,” Miky looked surprised, but not hurt, much to Jankos’ relief.

“What do you mean  _ what _ ?”

“He likes  _ you? _ Are you sure you’re not imagining this,” the brunette asked, almost laughing.

“Wow. Perkz said the exact same thing. You guys do wonders for my self esteem, honestly.”

“I’m sorry, it’s just-”

“Yeah, I get it. You don’t have to rub it in,” Jankos rolled his eyes.

“Are you not angry,” Marcin asked worriedly.

“No, a little sad, and sort of jealous that I can’t be his number one fanboy on the team, but that’s not your fault if he likes you. Besides, I could kind of pick up on it from the beginning, that the feeling wasn’t mutual. After dodging you for so long, I’m an expert on what that looks like,” Mihael chuckled.

“Oh, don’t worry. You can still be his number one fanboy. Even if he likes me, and I kind of like him, you’re my number one forever, Miky. Bros before hoes, am I right,” Jankos smiled.

“I’m relieved, in a way,” the support said.

“What do you mean?”

“The atmosphere was so bad between you two, I thought for sure you tried something weird,” he explained.

“For once it wasn’t me being the pervert. It’s nice, but also scary. I can’t lie. It makes me feel bad for you, putting up with me all the time,” he joked.

Miky grinned, sitting up.

“What did he do,” he asked with an interested expression.

“I was here to drop him off, and he asked me to come up with him, and he touched me on the leg,” Marcin tried to say it with a serious tone, but was laughing at the absurdity of it all.

“And?”

“And I shoved him off, and basically told him I’m not some easy gay and that you are my first priority,” he finished, with a pained face.

Miky laughed, picturing the scene in his head. Rekkles getting out of the car like a scorned woman to a goofball like Jankos. It was unfathomable. 

“Well, that first part was a lie, clearly,” Miky giggled, “but, I’m sorry,” Mihael said, wiping a tear of laughter from the corner of his eye, “that’s so fucking awkward, dude.”

“You don’t understand. He looked so fucking upset. I wanted to die,” Jankos sighed.

“Good luck fixing that. I’m not getting involved anymore than I already have, apparently.”

\---------------------------------------------

Thankfully, Rekkles and Miky went back to hanging out as usual. Which took any pressure off of Jankos to try and engage the AD carry, who he’d been avoiding the entire week. Sure, they had to play games on stage, and for practice, but luckily for him, Caps was always sitting in the chair between them. And as long as Caps was in that spot, it was like Rekkles wasn’t even there, or at least he could pretend. It’s not that he didn’t want to sit down and try to work things out, but it also wasn’t the easiest thing to do. And to make matters worse, Martin seemed to be using the same avoidance tactics. 

Not to mention, in every game they’d played since that night, Rekkles had outwardly refused to make any calls regarding the jungle. It made Jankos’ job that much harder, but at the same time, Marcin still felt bad about shooting him down, so it felt deserved in a way. On the other hand, Caps and Wunder were still completely out of the loop, so the palpable tension was clearly starting to affect the team atmosphere. It wasn’t until they lost a stage game that Jankos put his foot down and decided he couldn’t put the issue off any longer. But what could he possibly do to fix this?

\------------------------------------

Jankos woke up unusually early for a weekday. Since he’d have to be at the G2 house in a few hours for practice, he figured he might as well head over there early and go to the gym. They had a small fitness room with most equipment you could need for a decent workout. Ever since Covid hit, he stopped going to a big facility and never got back into the habit. 

He snuck into the house as quietly as possible, positive that many of his teammates would still be sleeping at this hour. But hey, that’s what happens when you play soloQ until 4am every night. Pushing open the door to the small gym, his gut wrenched. Rekkles was already in there. But he wasn’t about to back off, he drove all the way here specifically to work out, so that’s what he was going to do. 

Rekkles laid up the bar after his last rep on the bench press and sat up, looking over at Jankos with an indiscernible expression. Jankos knew he was cornered here. There was no way he could ignore him without things becoming painfully awkward. He walked over to the AD carry, taking in the sight of his exposed arms, the slight glisten of sweat on his beautiful tattoos. The sound of Martin’s deepened breathing echoed all around him, almost enough to lull him into a state of seduction, but he snapped himself out of it. He perched on a stair climber that sat opposite the Swede, looking him in the eye, as difficult as it was. 

“Can I help you,” he asked coldly, sweeping a hand through his hair, which somehow looked perfect, even post-workout.

“Well, I can’t exactly pretend like you’re not here, right?”

“Why not? You’ve done it for the last week or so. Don’t quit while you’re ahead,” Martin said bitterly.

He got up to make his exit, but Jankos hastily stood up and caught his wrist. He hadn’t meant to pull him quite so hard, more so just to keep him in place, but in his clumsiness he had yanked on Rekkles with considerable force, pulling him backwards so that their bodies stumbled together.

“S-sorry. I - I want to say sorry. I’ve felt like shit about what happened ever since that night, but I didn’t know how to make it better so I avoided you instead, like a fucking idiot. But we’re here now, so. You can hate me. But I need to say it. I didn’t mean for it to come off the way that it did.”

At first, Martin wouldn’t meet his eyes, pacing back a few feet and looking down at his sneakers.

“It’s whatever. You made your point, at least. After that, I eventually told Miky about everything. For the sake of honesty. I thought he should know...where I stood. He took it well, and we’ve still been able to have a nice friendship,” Rekkles replied.

“Yeah, I spoke to him, too....I don’t want things between us to stay like this. How can I fix it? I know this is my fault.”

“It’s not your fault. You were setting a boundary.”

“I was curious, though. That night in the car, you were saying something before you left,” Jankos asked.

“Oh, that,” Rekkles laughed under his breath, “that night after I grabbed you while you were making cookies. You were trying to hide something from me, but I noticed. The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized that doesn’t mean anything. Bodies just react sometimes.”

“Oh goddddddd,” Jankos whimpered quietly, cringing visibly, “I thought you couldn’t tell. Just end my life, please.” 

Rekkles grinned at the dramatic reaction.

“No, it’s ok. It kind of got me going, to be honest,” he said slyly, “but I won’t be a ‘weirdo’ as you put it. It’s okay. Miky likes me, but I don’t like Miky. You like Miky but he doesn’t like you. I like you, but you don’t like me. We’re all equally fucked. It’s doomed for sure,” he joked, “but I think the most important thing is that we can all be friends in the end, and well, I was the only one being salty about it, so...I’ll try and be a good sport. So, are we good now?”

Jankos smiled, thinking about how right he was about the failed, simping love triangle they had all inadvertently created. While the AD carry had gotten it partially wrong, assuming his feelings weren’t mutual, it didn’t seem like the time to mention that. He nodded, feeling freed from the weight on his shoulders.

“We’re good.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At least it's less tense now, right?   
> Thank you so much for reading, as always! All of your lovely comments mean the world to me.


	6. Hit the Lights

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The G2 boys go out on their day off.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is just a silly, short chapter.   
> But I hope you enjoy all the same :3

Jankos:  _ So, guess what? _

Perkz:  _ You’re finally not a shit tier Lee Sin? _

Jankos:  😢  _ I hope C9 makes it to Worlds...so I can kick your ass in game and in person.  _

Perkz: “ _ Kick” my ass? You mean you can land his ulti now? I guess you have improved KEKW _

Jankos: …... _ SO ANYWAYS! I was trying to say that I think everything is normal now, with me and Miky and Rekkles. _

Perkz:  _ Idk how normal it can be if you’re involved...lol ok. I’m done flaming you for today, I promise. But honestly, I’m glad it worked out. _

Jankos: _ It’s our day off and I wanted to do something with the team since I have a car to drive us. But idk what to do. _

Perkz:  _ Hmmm...if you’re going to convince Wunder to come, it will have to be really fun or involve food. _

Jankos: _ I was thinking maybe an escape room? _

Perkz: _ Na. Too boring. Oh shit! You know, there’s a cool place I went to a couple years before. A laser game place. I wonder if it’s still there. _

\-----------------------------------------------

With the help of Miky, he somehow managed to convince the entire team to go out together. The hard part wasn’t persuading them to play laser tag. They were much more reluctant about letting Jankos be their chauffeur. 

The players all piled into his small vehicle, Wunder automatically claiming the front seat for himself. Hip to hip, the other three squeezed into the back.

“Everyone for sure needs to put on their seat belt. Trust me, I’ve seen his driving first hand,” Rekkles laughed.

“Pffft! You’re just spoiled by your time with the fancy BMW race car drivers. Nothing will compare after that. I wish G2 gave us fun content like Fnatic,” Jankos whined, pulling out carefully.

“Are we gonna play on the same team, or against each other,” Caps asked curiously.

“Uhhhh. I don’t know the rules. Both, maybe,” Jankos shrugged.

“If we play against each other, we’ll give Jankos the three man team. He needs the handicap,” Wunder laughed.

“Don’t make me turn this car around, mister!”

\-------------------------------------------

The laser arcade was an expansive place, full of different bunkers and zones. They had loads of fun playing the outdoor range, but they opted for the indoor one on their last round of the day. It was dimly lit and set up like a secret Area 51 base. Two teams started at opposite sides of the arena. The objective was simple, the squad with the highest tag count wins. For this game, it was them together against another group of five. They all wore vests with small blinking targets. One team red, and one team blue. If the laser gun connected a hit, it would add to the respective unit’s hit counter. Along various points of the maze, there were buttons, which could be hit to temporarily turn out all lights, leaving the players in complete blackness for thirty seconds. They strapped on their gear and headed into the zone.

“I hope you’re not afraid of the dark, Miky. If you are, I can hold your hand. Don’t be shy,” Jankos cooed.

“Guys, I might be a little bit scared of the dark,” Caps added.

“Well, I’m gonna be the parent and tell you that you are a big boy, son. You will be okay,” the jungler patted him on the back vigorously.

“The double standards, though,” Miky laughed.

A robotic voice echoed over an intercom system, mechanically counting down to the start of the match. 

_ three….two….one _

“Good luck, boys,” Wunder saluted before charging forward on his own.

“Typical top lane,” Rekkles shook his head.

Jankos was the next to move in, not waiting to pair up with anybody. He figured if they were all grouped together, they would be easier to hit. And like his top laner, he was used to wandering alone, too. The course was full of walls, twists, and turns and it was mostly lit by blacklight. Huge glowing test tubes containing mysterious creatures decorated the walls. Neon paint splatter stained parts of the floor like blood. 

“This place is low-key creepy,” Rekkles said under his breath, Miky trailing close behind him. 

Caps had gone off in a different direction, hoping to reconnect with someone eventually.

It wasn’t long before things started popping off. Someone hit a switch, triggering a power outage. Wunder was the first to spot an enemy, choosing to adopt a run and gun method, shooting behind himself while quickly running for cover down a narrow pathway. The winding map seemed to be limitless, and it was easy to go for long periods of time without running into anybody.

Jankos heard footsteps coming and peeked around the corner, tagging two enemies and forcing them to re-route. Mikyx and Rekkles were forced to split up as they rounded a turn and met face to face with an opponent. Caps and Wunder eventually reunited, covering each other’s backs as they stealthily advanced through the halls.

Marcin was searching around for a good camp spot when he found another light button, situated right near a perfect junction. He waited to ambush anyone who came his way. The sound of more steps alerted him. He jumped out from behind the wall, gun raised, and scared the hell out of Rekkles.

“Fuck, man. You scared the shit out of me,” he sighed, running a hand through his hair.

Jankos quickly pulled him back into the cover of his hiding spot.

“Shhh. This is the perfect trap, don’t give away our position,” he whispered.

“Jankos, you can’t touch my butt just because it’s dark in here. I obviously know it’s you,” Rekkles replied.

“Oh, sorry. It’s just a reflex at this point,” he chuckled under his breath.

He heard voices growing near and promptly stood up, pounding the light switch. Marcin lunged out from his spot, tagging the easily visible targets in the void of darkness as he ran away down another hall. 

Mihael was actively running around, going for an aggressive style of play. He had already encountered and successfully tagged several people. On his way, he stumbled upon a hidden stairway that led up to a secret crow’s nest. From there, he could see parts of the maze from above. He spotted rival player’s locations and picked them off if they came within range. 

Wunder and Caps had come across a sort of puzzle. It looked like a detonator, maybe this would give them points, but they needed to electronically enter a code. So, they went off in search of clues.

Rekkles followed the direction he thought Jankos might have taken, trying to find any of his rogue friends. This time, he spotted Marcin first. He was at the end of a long hall on standby. And it was time for a little payback. Quietly, he circled back to another light switch he had passed on his way. He smashed the button and hastily rushed Jankos, sneaking up behind him. Whenever the lights were hit, a loud “powering down” sound played over the speakers, which gave just enough cover for his footsteps. 

By the time the jungler heard someone coming, they were right on him. He barely had a chance to turn around before he was pinned to the wall. Still unable to see anything besides the blurry, blue light blinking from his assailant’s chest, a pair of lips roughly caught his own, stealing his breath. Rekkles smirked into the kiss as Marcin gasped, and he heard the sound of his gun clattering to the floor. 

Like lightning, Rekkles bolted off, leaving an awestruck Jankos in the dark for a few more seconds before the lights kicked back on. He was positive he knew who it was, but it still caught him off guard. And he was thankful that the other person hadn’t stuck around for the lights, because he was still trying to collect himself, picking up his gun with flushed cheeks. 

In the end, Wunder and Caps figured out the puzzle, which counted for so many points toward their score that it won them the game by a long shot. 

As they walked out to the car park, Rekkles flashed a cocky grin at Jankos.

The jungler wanted to ignore it, look down at his feet, and hope that nobody could see the blush creeping its way back onto his face. But he fought the embarrassment, and recovered as casually as he could muster.

“You fucking dog,” Jankos said slyly, elbowing him in the ribs, “I’ve got to admit, that was very sneaky.”

The rest of the team had no idea what they were talking about, but they didn’t ask questions. 

Climbing back into the car, they began their journey home. 

  
  



	7. BDSM

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bad Decisions, Sadistic Martin?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A hindsight 20/20 look at the happenings of the previous chapter.

It was only a few days after he and Jankos had settled things in the gym when Rekkles had discovered through Miky that the jungler supposedly liked him back. In the time since they had made up, he’d kept a safe distance, having given up on the idea that there was any sort of spark between them. He had no clue until their support asked him about it, having noticed that they were hardly talking, despite being on good terms. Needless to say, he felt even more confused at how to go about things when he’d found out that the feeling was mutual. 

One morning, he decided to explain the situation to Caps. He knew the midlaner well, and he wanted a perspective beyond Miky’s. It was a morning off, and he lay on Rasmus’s bed, watching the disheveled boy play SoloQ in his pajamas. There was a glass of his beloved orange juice sitting on his desk. While he waited in the queue for the next match, he heard Martin sigh. Caps turned in his computer chair and pulled his knees up to his chest, resting his chin on his legs and looking at his friend.

“Something’s on your mind. I can tell,” he said.

“Yeah, I need your opinion on something.”

“Ok. Go for it,” he shrugged.

“I like Jankos. Like uh, you know, more than a teammate. And Miky told me that he told  _ him _ , that he likes me, too.”

“I wouldn’t go around just saying that to people. You’d get memed on so hard if the fans found out that you picked him when you could get anyone in the whole world. But yeah...Wow. Have I been living under a rock or what,” the midlaner asked humorously.

“Well, with the amount of solo queue you play…”

Caps laughed.

“What do you want my opinion on exactly?”

“You’ve known Jankos longer than I have. How do you think I should approach him about it? I tried all the normal flirting before, but it just seemed like a joke to him.”

“Jankos is…pretty wild. I don’t know. Maybe you’ve got to be more direct about it, so that there’s no possible way he could take it as a joke. He’s always doing weird stuff to all of us, so the only thing I can think is - it might take more than the average hint to get the message across.”

\----------------------------------------------------

Rekkles wasn’t crazy about the idea. How much more direct could he get? But it made sense, the way Caps put it. That was the same day they had all gone out to play laser tag. That was the same day he decided “direct” meant kissing him in the dark and running away. 

_ Yeah, cause assaulting someone who can’t even see you is super direct. Good job, Martin, _ he mentally berated himself.

It seemed romantic at the time, in a mysterious kind of way. But ever since that incident, things became seriously strained between them. Not the same as it was before, yet it was almost worse in a way. Jankos wasn’t ignoring him, or pretending like he wasn’t there. Instead, it was like he was going out of his way to treat him as platonically as possible. Obviously, Martin stood down and hadn’t tried anything since. But now what? Was he stupid to believe that mutual feelings would work themselves out naturally? Or did he have it all wrong?

\----------------------------------

The night of the kiss, after Jankos had gotten back to his place and settled in, he flopped into his gaming chair and whipped out his phone, the action weighing heavily on his mind.

Jankos:  _ I don’t understand why he would do that. If he thought I didn’t like him, why would he kiss me? And it was not just a normal kiss, it was aggressive.  _

Perkz:  _ You said he was flirting with you basically from the beginning, right?  _

Jankos:  _ Yeah, but it was the kind of flirting you do with your bros, you know? Chad stuff. This was different. _

Perkz:  _ Maybe he is just fucking with you? You know...like doing it just because he can. _

Jankos:  _ He doesn’t seem like a cruel person, though. _

Perkz:  _ Not a cruel person, but he always gave me low key sadist vibes. _

Jankos:  _ Lol! What are they teaching you in America?! _

Perkz:  _ I’m serious, dude. Besides, you’re like the perfect target. Open enough to play along, but lonely with no confidence.  _

Jankos:  _ Wtf??? I’m confident! No thanks to you guys!  _

Perkz:  _ That’s the only logical thing I can think of. He’s not the desperate type, so. It’s gotta be a game. _

Jankos:  _ How do I dodge a game like this? lmao  _

Perkz:  _ Just don’t play  _ 🤷🏽‍♂️

\--------------------------------

As much as the idea of sadist Rekkles intrigued him, he wouldn’t be so easily swayed. Jankos preferred being the one to make the moves - friendly or otherwise. And everyone knew this was a part of his personality. It could be possible that the AD carry was acting on this, purposely beating him to the punch to push him out of his comfort zone. It didn’t matter that he was easily the most handsome player in all of LoL history, and it didn’t matter if Jankos did like him. It was the principle of it. So, he would bait him. If it turned out to be a cruel game, he would find out. If Rekkles’s feelings were genuine, Jankos would flip the tables on his terms. 

It was almost comical to arbitrarily deny attention to the one he wanted to give it to most, well almost the most - Miky still came first. Instead, he poured his energy into any other distraction, whether that was playing League, or bothering his other teammates. When he did talk to Martin, it was just regular stuff, like calls in-game or a casual greeting. And it seemed to be working. Since he’d closed himself off, Rekkles had completely stopped flirting. Maybe it was a game after all? The only way to tell was to eventually start making moves of his own.

\--------------------------

“Do you think Rekkles is a sadist?”

Mihael burst into laughter. 

“A WHAT?”

“You know, like Evelynn,” Jankos explained.

“Excuse me?”

Miky spun around in his computer chair with a look of judgemental amusement. 

“Don’t look at me like a fucking librarian, Miky! You know what I’m talking about. I know you watch hentai!”

The support grinned, adjusting his glasses.

“Ok, Jankos,” he sighed, “why are you asking this?”

“He kissed me,” the jungler said squeamishly.

“On a scale of one to ten, how would you rate your pain?”

“What? He didn’t hurt me,” the jungler furrowed his brow. 

“There’s your answer,” Miky smirked.

“IT’S THE PSYCHOLOGICAL PAIN, MIKY. 11 out of 10 psychological pain,” his voice boomed as he shook his teammate by the shoulders.

“And you’re sure that’s not just a side effect of your stupidity,” Mihael teased.

“You’re worse than my twitch chat, but at least they pay money to abuse me,” Jankos said sarcastically.

“So, I thought you said you sort of like him. Wouldn’t that make it a good thing?” 

“It’s not that simple. The last he and I talked...before all of that, he was under the impression that I didn’t like him that way. And now he’s making out with me in public places?! That’s suspicious!”

“Where? The laser place?”

“YES! And I think there were security cameras in there because the worker gave me such a weird look when we came out. I was so fucking embarassed, Mikyyyyy. They probably saw,” Jankos visibly cringed.

Miky rolled his eyes.

“Don’t worry. I’m sure you’ll never see those people again in your life. As for Rekkles, I don’t know,” he threw up his arms in surrender, “You could always talk to him like a normal person.”

“Nope,” Jankos shook his head defiantly.

“Soo. You’re just gonna sit here and guess if he’s into BDSM instead?”

The jungler nodded.

“Which you still didn’t give your input on, by the way,” he added.

\----------------------------------------

Later that evening, after practice was officially done for the day, Marcin was out in the kitchen eating pizza with Wunder. Martin was telling a story about how his raid party wiped during a particularly hard fight after getting the boss down to only a few thousand hp. Jankos laughed at the way his top laner became so animated when talking about World of Warcraft, yet here he was, a LoL pro instead. Rekkles walked in to grab something from the fridge, and Wunder noticed the waver in Jankos’s expression, how his boisterous laugh quieted ever so slightly. He watched as the ADC skirted around them without saying anything. He took a bottle of water and speed walked out of there like he had somewhere to be. 

\-----------------------------------------------------

Miky engaged his emergency internet tab as soon as he heard the door to his room click open. He didn’t want anyone to know he was watching Lucky Star. Just as he opened his mouth to yell at the intruder, he stopped himself as soon as he saw who it was.

“Wunder?”

The top laner never came to anybody’s room. Especially not his. Wunder had a huge anti-weeb policy and he knew that entering Miky’s room was a risk.

“Something is wrong with Jankos,” he said plainly.

“I mean…there’s a lot wrong with him. You’re gonna have to be more specific,” the support jested.

“More than usual,” Martin laughed, “Rekkles came into the room while we were eating and the sad homosexual energy was so powerful, I almost threw up my pizza.”

“Hahahaha.  _ About that _ ,” Miky rubbed the back of his head with guilt.

“Tell me what you know,” Wunder commanded expectantly.

“I  _ might _ have misworded some information that I relayed to Rekkles. Which  _ may  _ have caused an awkward situation for Jankos.”

“I’m not following here. Information about what?”

“I set them up. But Jankos wasn’t ready to be set up. Does that make sense?”

Wunder raised a brow and frowned in thought for a moment, mulling it over. 

“I think I understand. You finally snapped, huh? You were tired of being the target of all of Jankos’s simping for so long. So, you lied to give him a taste of his own medicine. That’s evil, but truly genius. I have a newfound respect for you, even if you are a weeb. Your alt tab skills are weak, by the way. I saw that loli shit you were watching.”

“It didn’t happen on purpose. Just kind of worked out that way, but thanks? I think?”

“Please don’t say anything to fix this yet. I want to watch him suffer for a little while longer,” Martin chuckled.

_ So much for Rekkles being the sadist of G2 _ , Mihael mused as he watched the top laner leave.

  
  
  
  



	8. Cleanse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With some friends you go shopping, with others you get caught in the rain.

G2 made it into the playoffs, of course, and they were more focused than ever on practice. If they weren’t playing scrims as a team, on an individual level, they were all fine-tuning their skills for the meta. Had they made it out of the regular season on top? Sure. But nothing was guaranteed to protect them from potential upset. Fnatic was on their heels, coming for the throne. Though their rival’s performance had started out shaky in the early split, they had managed to get their footing and sort out their synergy. Or maybe Nisqy just had some catching up to do after all of that brain rotting time spent on NA servers.

Rekkles stayed in contact with his old teammates as much as possible. On the odd day when their free time aligned, Selfmade, Bwipo, and Hylissang would meet up with him. It also gave them the opportunity to stay in touch with Tim since his departure from Fnatic. Whenever they were together, they would group up into frame and do a mass video call to Nemesis, who was home in Slovenia. Sometimes they’d go to a pub and watch a football match, other times it was as simple as grabbing a bite to eat. It certainly helped that both of their gaming orgs were based in the same city. 

Breaks became more sparse for all of them due to play-offs. Even if they did manage to get a day off, most of them didn’t want to waste it, opting to play SoloQ in their rooms instead. 

But Rekkles needed to clear his head, and get out of the G2 house for a while. He’d been playing as a pro long enough to know that some things can’t be forced. And he was determined to step away from the rift for the day. Bwipo and Hylissang had already declined his invitation to hang out that day, but he knew he could count on Selfmade. The Fnatic jungler always had a weak spot for Rekkles, and he’d be lying if he said he didn’t abuse it from time to time. He found it endearing that Oskar could never say no to him. 

\--------------------------

Jankos came to the G2 house on their day off to play some dynamicQ with Miky and Caps. Wunder would likely spend the next several hours running mythics in WoW with his guild. As Marcin walked down the hall for a quick bathroom break between games, the last thing he expected to run into was an enemy jungler. Selfmade and Rekkles were just returning from a trip to the mall, heading off to Martin’s room with their hands full of shopping bags.

“Enemy jungle invade IRL,” Oskar said to him in Polish.

“I should only be forced to see your face on game days, and that’s bad enough” Jankos teased, “What are you doing here?”

“I came to steal your camps,” Selfmade answered arrogantly, slinging an arm around Rekkles’s shoulders.

Martin had no idea what was going on, the two still conversing entirely in their native language. 

“I thought it was your turn to take the trash out today, Rekkles. What are you doing dragging it back in here like that,” Jankos said playfully.

“Trash? You mean the younger, better version of yourself. The jungler who still has a hairline and isn’t a washed up veteran,” Selfmade replied sharply, raising his brows.

“Ohh yeah? Well, I hope Pete fucks up your hair and makes you BaldMade again,” Jankos laughed before brushing past them.

“You guys were talking shit that whole time? Toxic. Maybe it’s not L9’s fault, it’s just a Polish thing,” Rekkles chuckled.

\-------------------------

The team took an L against Misfits during the third week of playoffs. Nothing that anyone was too bothered about, aside from Rekkles. The members of G2 could be heard on comms, all laughing it off as “a banger”, but the AD carry was silent. And he stayed that way throughout the whole ride back to the G2 house. Despite the few losses they had faced together, Jankos noticed a trend. Rekkles was way too hard on himself when it came to losing games. Caps had always mentioned it before, but the midlaner’s approach was to leave well enough alone. Rasmus knew that Martin liked to brood sometimes, and he thought it best to let him sulk it out in privacy. Jankos somehow felt guilty about it. The Swede needed a stern reminder that the performance of the team wasn’t his burden to bear alone. 

So, without thinking, the question slipped out. 

“Do you want to come hang out tonight?”

He immediately regretted the offer, but at the same time, Jankos doubted that the blonde would take him up on it. After a tiring day at the LEC studio, he wanted nothing more than to go back to the sanctuary of his own apartment, bundle up in something comfortable, and maybe do a short stream for his fans before heading off to bed. Those plans did not include playing team clown all night in order to cheer up a depressed Martin. 

Rekkles leaned against the window, gazing out of the team van as the city lights passed them by. He had a forlorn, distant look in his eyes as they traced the raindrops that cascaded down the glass. It was a delayed response, but he momentarily broke out of his trance to look at Jankos.

“Uh, yeah. Sure,” he uttered in a hushed tone.

Jankos kicked himself for asking. He was surprised that Rekkles had agreed, even if it felt like he’d just consented to something without even knowing what it was. 

He awkwardly waited in his car downstairs while Martin packed an overnight bag. Rekkles was admittedly stumped by Jankos’s invitation, but he knew it would be good to get out after their loss today. Any distraction would be healthier than letting the pressure weigh too heavily on his conscience. No matter how often he told himself to roll with the punches, he hadn’t yet found a good coping mechanism. And who could be a better distraction than his loud, wise-cracking jungler? All feelings aside, Jankos had already lifted his spirits following a tough loss earlier in the season. And Martin was shamelessly seeking that companionship. 

On the drive to his place, they discussed the game play by play. Rekkles griped about what went wrong or what he might have done better. 

“Don’t worry about it. We all made mistakes, but ultimately, I know who to blame,” Jankos said matter of factly.

“Who,” Martin asked curiously.

“Grabbz draft,” he answered with a cocky grin.

Rekkles smiled. Not a laugh out of him yet, but Marcin still counted it as progress. As they pulled up to park at Jankos’s apartment complex, the rain worsened, turning into a violent downpour.

“Kurwa,” the jungler cursed aloud, “I don’t have an umbrella in here.”

“Well, it’s not too far of a run for cover. We can make it,” the Swede said, looking out to the nearest stairwell.

Jankos took a deep breath, bracing himself for the frigid water.

“Ok, we go on three. One, two, go!”

They simultaneously hopped out of the car, slamming the doors behind themselves. Jankos sprinted for cover, cursing under his breath the entire way. Rekkles walked a little hurriedly at first, but slowed his pace as he got closer to his friend.

“Are you insane?! Get your ass in here,” the jungler exclaimed.

“Here. Catch,” Rekkles tossed him his dripping backpack.

Jankos watched in confusion as the AD carry spread his arms wide like wings and tilted his head to the sky, letting the storm wash over him unabashedly.

“You really snapped this time, didn’t you,” Marcin sarcastically called out to him.

“No, this just feels nostalgic. It’s nice,” Rekkles replied thoughtfully, “didn’t you ever play in the rain as a kid?”

Jankos sighed, a small smile crossing his lips. He set Rekkles’s bag down and walked back out into the volley. He pictured how they must have looked from the outside. Him, a drowned rat, and Rekkles, a tempest prince. Their clothes clung to them, soaked through to the bone. He stood beside his teammate, and imitated him, extending his arms and letting his head fall back, surrendering himself to the elements. After a moment, he stopped, looking back to Martin. 

“I don’t see what all the fuss is about,” Jankos said, dropping his arms back down to his sides carelessly.

They climbed the stairs to his floor, dripping wet. The brisk evening air chilled them to the core, and they scrambled into the entrance of the flat. They kicked off their sopping shoes and stood there for a moment, shivering. 

“Hold on. I don’t wanna get water everywhere. Let me just…”

Jankos began peeling off his clothes, as much as they fought to stick to him. Rekkles tried not to stare at his lithe frame as he pulled his jersey over his head, discarding it in a soaked pile by the door. He fumbled around a bit, trying to wiggle out of his sweatpants. Eventually he was down to his underwear, and effectively freezing. He ran through the house to grab some towels. Wrapping one around himself, he jogged back to toss one at Rekkles, who had already followed suit in undressing. 

“Thanks,” the ADC nodded, wrapping up in the towel as he visibly shuddered.

“You can use the shower first. Go warm up,” Jankos said.

“Uh, I don’t know where anything is,” Rekkles shrugged, peeking down the hallway.

“Oh, shit. You’re right,” the jungler said, gesturing to follow him. 

He showed him to the bathroom and started up the hot water. 

Jankos sat at his computer, now with just a towel draped around his waist while he waited for his teammate to finish. He browsed Twitter, trying to think about how to entertain his guest for the night. 

“Hey, Jankos,” Martin called from the bathroom.

Marcin got up and cracked open the door, not daring to look inside. 

“What’s up?”

“My clothes got wet in my bag. I’m uh….gonna need to borrow some,” he explained.

“Oh my god. Okay, hold onnnn. I’ll go grab the cutest panties I can find,” Jankos taunted, rolling his eyes.

He grabbed a pair of sweats, a simple shirt, and some boxers for him, not putting too much thought into it. Once again, he cracked open the door just enough to reach his arm inside, holding out the clothes to Rekkles. 

“Thanks. Wait, these are your cutest panties? I’m disappointed, honestly,” the AD carry replied.

“I’m sorry I’m not an underwear model like you, Mr. Calvin Klein,” Marcin replied sarcastically.

As Rekkles stepped out of the bathroom, he stopped to glance at Jankos’s body, noting the meager cover of the towel.

“What,” the jungler asked, suddenly feeling self-conscious.

“That’s a good look for you. You know, we could just forget about the clothes and have a toga party.”

“Yeah, right,” he touted, slinking away into the bathroom.

\----------------------------

“So, what do you wanna do,” Jankos asked, flopping onto the couch beside his teammate after finishing his shower.

“Netflix and chill,” Martin suggested smugly.

Jankos laughed, tossing him the remote.

“Your move,” he winked.

“Actually,” Rekkles paused, “there’s something I wanted to say.”

“Sure, but if it’s about the game, I don’t want to hear it. You’re too hard on yourself, man.”

“No, not about the game. A couple weeks ago…”

“A game from that long ago? Shit. And you’re still beating yourself up about it?”

“No! Well, it was  _ at _ a game, but not League,” Rekkles tried to bring it up, hoping that Jankos would take the hint.

“Ohhhh, the hit and run,” Jankos questioned with an amused look on his face, “I thought we were pretending that never happened.”

“I’m sorry about that.”

“Why? I’d rather be fake kissed than cockblocked forever like how Miky treats me,” Jankos joked lightly.

“Fake?”

Rekkles furrowed his brow in confusion.

“Yeah, cause like...haha the joke is on Jankos very funny. It’s a prank, broooooo,” he said, imitating a stereotypical NA frat boy to the best of his ability.

“Do you think of me like this? Am I a Chad,” Rekkles giggled, but was lowkey concerned.

“No, I’m just kidding. I talked to Perkz about it afterwards and we came up with a theory.”

“And what was that,” he asked, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back onto the sofa.

“That you’re secretly into BDSM and it was a power move. But look, okay, I know I’m the simpmaster 3000, but I’m not a bitch. Well - only for Miky, but that’s not the point,” Jankos rambled in an animated voice.

“So, this is what happens when you leave two idiots to their own devices,” Rekkles smirked, shaking his head at the absurdity of his explanation.

“It was actually quite the opposite,” Martin explained, “I went to Caps, explaining how I felt, and he told me that I have to be more um... _ aggressive _ with you to get my message across, because you’re so extra.”

Jankos winced and said a silent “yikes”.

“We learned something important today - never trust a midlaner for anything,” Jankos laughed.

“Tell me about it,” Rekkles grinned.

While the air had been cleared regarding the fateful kiss that day, the discussion left a lot of new questions unanswered. But the pair both ignored it as they proceeded to watch Lord of the Rings as per Martin’s request, of course. They were only halfway through the first film of the trilogy, when Jankos looked over to find his teammate nodding off. He tried to fight it at first, picking his head up as it fell, but eventually the drowsiness overtook him and he slumped over.

The jungler smiled to himself, thinking about how he was supposed to be the “senior” of the team, yet there was the almighty Rekkles, passed out by ten o’clock. He debated what to do. He couldn’t just leave him to sleep in such a weird position, but it also felt wrong to wake him up. He grabbed a blanket and a pillow and threw them at him, hoping the impact would stir him back to life. Nothing. 

“Rekkles,” he shook him lightly by the shoulder. 

Out like a light.

“Okayyyyy,” he whispered to himself as he mustered all his strength, hoisting his friend up and off of the couch bridal style.

Carefully, he set him down on the bed and draped a blanket over him.  _ Letting the guest take the bed is only good manners _ , he thought to himself. He made his way back out to the living room and hopped on the computer for a few games of soloQ, not feeling tired enough to try and rest yet. A couple of hours later, Martin walked back out, rubbing the sleep from his eyes and stretching. 

“Go back to bed, sleeping beauty. It’s only midnight,” Jankos teased.

“I can’t believe I passed out like that. I must’ve been more exhausted than I thought.”

“Or you just pick boring movies.”

“Take that back,” Rekkles whined, walking over to watch Jankos play over his shoulder, “ooooof, look at that KDA,” he laughed, “sure it’s not time to play normal games? Or maybe try against some bots?”

Jankos died and the screen went grey, he spun around in his chair to spare an unimpressed glance at his ADC. 

“Don’t worry. I’ll take it from here,” Rekkles said, sitting on Jankos’s lap before he could protest. 

He spun them back to face the screen and took over the keyboard and mouse, hijacking Jankos’s entire game. 

“Show off,” Jankos replied.

He didn’t manage to carry the game to a win, but by the time they lost he had at least managed to salvage his KDA. 

“You can thank me later,” he said confidently.

“Whatever. I don’t play for KD - ahh~”

As Rekkles went to stand up, he accidentally scooted back, his ass brushing across Jankos’s groin unexpectedly, earning a moan from the jungler. The Swede immediately blushed and apologized frantically.

“I’m too boomer for this. I need to ask my doctor if my heart is healthy enough first,” Jankos laughed, playing it off.

He yawned and stood up, walking over to the couch before plopping down onto it haphazardly.

“I am ready for bed, though,” he said, pulling a blanket around his shoulders.

“Aww. But the fun was just getting started,” Rekkles pouted, looking wistfully at the computer screen.

“Says the guy who just took a nap,” Jankos replied.

“I’m just kidding. I am still tired. But I feel bad stealing your bed, I’ll take the couch.”

“Nah, it’s ok. I want you to have the bed,” Jankos insisted, spreading out on the sofa. 

Rekkles then proceeded to try and smush himself between Marcin and the back cushions, forcing himself into the small space as Jankos groaned in protest.

“Then to be fair, we either both take the couch or both take the bed,” Martin grinned cheekily, “I’ll let you choose.”

\----------------------------

They lie in his room for almost an hour, chatting about random things. Their minds both drifted back and forth to the words left unspoken, and neither dared to give them life, skirting around the idea with “normal” conversation instead. 

“Why did you invite me over,” Rekkles asked innocently, “I said yes because this whole time I thought we weren’t on very good terms, and I wasn’t about to pass up the chance to fix it.”

“Hrm. It just felt right. You’re a pretty sore loser,” Jankos joked, “I had to get you out of there for the sake of the others.”

“ _ Oh?  _ Well, maybe if my jungler listened to my calls every now and again, we wouldn’t be in that situation,” he added coyly.

“I thought you liked selfish junglers,” Marcin insinuated, clearly referring to his run-in with Selfmade.

“I was just joking. No need to get jealous,” Rekkles nudged him playfully.

They were quiet for a little bit, both rolling over to get comfortable, closing their eyes and waiting for sleep to come. It was always awkward sleeping in a bed with someone for the first time. Jankos felt hyper aware of every sound or movement he made, as if he might disturb Martin accidentally. Suddenly, he heard Rekkles laugh to himself from the other side of the mattress.

“What’s so funny?”

“BDSM,” he whispered, chuckling to himself some more, “what the actual fuck?”

“Hey, it’s not that crazy of a theory. Anybody could be into that. Who knows? I’m probably a masochist, and that’s why I go after Miky. Every time he shoots me down, it’s still a turn on,” Jankos giggled.

“I’m truly a sadist, that makes us perfect for each other, no?”

“If you kissed me like you did that day, I’d be at your mercy,” Jankos said honestly.

Rekkles rolled back over to face him with a curious yet nervous expression.

“You liked the kiss, then?”

Jankos smirked and rolled his eyes, pretending he had to search for the answer.

“Yeah, it was okay,” he teased.

“How about a retry,” Rekkles asked smoothly, running a hand through his hair.

“Only if it’s my turn,” Jankos challenged.

They sat there, staring at each other, both waiting for one to make a move. They were temporarily held back by the fear that it was some kind of joke they shouldn’t follow through with. Until Marcin finally worked up his courage and took the first step. He kissed Martin, slowly, exploratively at first. Not opening his mouth, not putting much force behind it, merely brushing their lips together delicately. Pausing softly, and inaudibly to change the angle of the kiss, the tips of their noses ghosting across one another. 

He pulled back after a moment or two, taking in the Swede’s handsome face. His cheeks were tinged red. His lips pulled into a shy smile as he felt himself heat up even more under Jankos’s stare. It felt like his jungler could see through him.   
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You already know I had to cut it off at some weird place.   
> This chapter made me listen to "come clean" by Hilary Duff way too many times and I'm ashamed. Lmao.  
> Thank you for your patience with this update.


	9. Kappa Pride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things get spicy. Idek what else to say.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> warning! things get pretty explicit. I don't even know how I wrote this. 
> 
> After every sentence, I was like: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEtgRBjEZp0&ab_channel=EsplodeGames
> 
> bon apetit, y'all

Soft lips collided and stubbled chins grazed past one another. They found themselves lost in the moment. Nothing existed outside of that kiss. It was the finale of bubbling tension that had long been threatening to boil over. Marcin’s hands tangled themselves in Martin’s damp hair, gripping a fistful of locks for leverage. Rekkles moaned at the forcefulness of Jankos’s touch, kissing back more fervently than before. 

“You like that? I thought you were supposed to be the one in charge,” Jankos teased.

Rekkles didn’t know what to say, but Marcin wasn’t about to waste any time. He took the AD carry by the chin, pulling him back in for more, and he willingly obliged. All the while, the jungler was savoring the idea in his head. The idea that he’d left Martin so dumbfounded, he couldn’t utter a single word. Rekkles, the face of an org, the man who gave interviews and stood in front of cameras day in and day out for the last several years - left speechless by him. It felt good, empowering even. 

Their bodies were pressed together, and Marcin’s hand roamed underneath Martin’s shirt. His fingers gently traced the smooth skin on his back before gliding up his sides, feeling the slight indentation of his ribcage. His palm gently brushed over Rekkles’s chest, earning a soft shudder from the Swede. Martin grasped Jankos by the hip and ground against his jungler, creating the friction he’d been craving. Marcin groaned softly, momentarily breaking the kiss to smirk before biting Rekkles’s lower lip and pinching one of his nipples playfully. 

Martin arched his back, gasping at the fluttering sensation that rippled through him. Jankos pulled Rekkles’s shirt up and over his head. It was dark in the room, but he could still see the stark black of his tattoos against his pale skin, beautiful as ever. 

“Now you,” Martin insisted, tugging at the hem of Jankos’s top.

Jankos hesitated, but stripped off his own shirt as well. He felt self conscious, imagining that his frame probably looked lanky and awkward in comparison to someone as perfect as Rekkles. However, the doubts were quickly erased from his mind. He was forced to refocus as Martin palmed his erection through his pants, snapping him back to the present. 

“Always ready to go, aren’t we,” Rekkles asked coyly.

Marcin groaned at the contact. He quickly got to work on Martin’s newly exposed skin, leaning down to nibble and kiss his delicate collarbone. The AD carry tilted his head back, revealing more of his sensitive neck as Jankos trailed upwards, taking care not to leave any marks. He paused to steal one more peck from the Swede’s lips before moving back to his toned chest. 

Rekkles let out a hiss of air as the jungler bit his nipple somewhat harshly, testing for a reaction. He looked up at Martin with a cheeky grin. Rekkles’s eyes were glazed over with lust as he stared back, cheeks stained rouge. 

“I want you,” he said, in an almost demanding tone.

“What are you going to do about it, then,” Jankos asked daringly.

Rekkles smiled flirtatiously, raising a brow. He got up on his hands and knees, positioning himself at Jankos’s waist. He forcefully tugged the waistband of the jungler’s bottoms and underwear, pulling them both down to his thighs. Everything was laid bare, and Marcin was conflicted by a mixture of excitement and embarrassment. But the affair didn’t seem to phase Rekkles. He bent over, licking the tip of Jankos’s cock earnestly. 

The intensity of the unexpected action rocked Marcin, nearly knocking the wind from his lungs. He gasped for air, sharply inhaling as he gripped the sheets looking for an anchor to reality. He glanced down, wincing in sexual pleasure, and caught Martin’s sultry gaze. Waves of pleasure ricocheted through him as Rekkles planted small kisses from the base to the tip, teasing him. 

“Do you want me, too,” Martin mewled.

“Fuck - please,” Jankos begged.

“Okay, but only because you asked so nicely…”

Rekkles winked and turned his attention back to Jankos’s throbbing erection. He took his length into his mouth, starting slowly. Jankos moaned, fighting his hardest not to thrust his hips upwards. His desire felt overwhelming, bordering animalistic as he lost himself in the sensation. The slick heat of Rekkles’s tongue brushed over all of his sweet spots, and he was sure he wouldn’t be able to hold on for long. After a couple of minutes spent in agonizing bliss, Rekkles sat up, wiping spit from his lips with the back of his hand.

Marcin gestured for him to come closer, back where he could kiss him comfortably and let his hands roam his body further. This time, with more abandon, they explored each other’s mouths. Their breathing was labored with passion, gasping for oxygen only in brief lapses to find a new angle. Jankos slid a hand down the back of Rekkles’s pajamas, beneath his boxers, and gripped his ass cheek posessively. The AD carry whined slightly, his erection feeling painfully trapped by the fabric of his pants. He wiggled out of them, now equally naked as his counterpart. Martin whimpered at the raw friction as Jankos pulled him in by the hip, their bodies grinding together erotically. 

“Do you want to, uh…” Jankos, asked breathlessly, unsure of how to tastefully approach the question.

“Fuck? I thought you’d never ask.” 

The jungler was glad to hear his AD Carry was one step ahead of him. Marcin scooted over to the edge of his bed, rummaging through the top drawer of his nightstand. Finally, he found a small bottle of lube he’d kept stashed away on the off chance he ever brought a date home. He poured some out into his palm, slicking up his fingers diligently. 

“Get back on your hands and knees for me,” he commanded in a husky tone. 

Somewhat shyly, Martin obeyed. Jankos positioned himself behind Rekkles, appreciating the curvature of his body from the back. He spanked his ass forcefully, and Martin gasped, heating up at the vulnerable state he was in. Then, gently, and with a notable degree of care, Jankos began stretching him out. The Swede stiffened up as he inserted the first digit, but as he gradually worked up the pace, his body adjusted. As the discomfort morphed into gratification, Rekkles started stroking his own cock in time with Jankos’s rhythm, finding himself wanting more than just the two fingers that were pumping in and out of him.

“Jankos, I’m ready,” he groaned.

Marcin listened, withdrawing his fingers and taking a moment to lube himself up. Needless to say, he was more than ready, too. But he wasn’t going to give him what he wanted so easily. On his knees behind Martin, he aligned his hips, tip barely pressing at his entrance. Rekkles’s body visibly shuddered, and all the while he never stopped touching himself, too caught up in the revelry. 

“How bad do you want me,” Jankos asked slyly.

Rekkles turned his head to look back at him, eyes pleading, but head void of thoughts. In the heat of the moment, he felt desperate, and forming coherent sentences would be a struggle in itself. 

“Fuck- Jankos, please. Don’t play with me,” he breathed.

“I need to hear it first,” Jankos corrected, teasing the Swede by barely pushing into him.

“Marcin, I need you,” he moaned, pressing his hips back, forcing Jankos’s member deeper inside of him.

Satisfied by the determination in his plea, and spurred on by his own libido, he appeased Rekkles, thrusting all the way to the hilt. Martin cried, and dipped his back. The searing fire coursing through his veins made him feel alive. Jankos grasped his hips, driving into him without remorse. The impact was jarring at first, and Rekkles had to steady himself against the mattress below him so as not to lose balance. The ache steadily mounted into ecstasy, and his world became an intoxicated blur. He bit down into the blanket beneath him to stifle his moans.

Marcin groaned as he continued rocking into Rekkles. The blonde keened and writhed beneath him. He felt the fever rising in his core once again, ready to snap like a taut wire. 

“Martin, aaaa-ah, I’m close,” he huffed, not relenting in his motions.

Rekkles looked back at him.

“Then stop,” he instructed, “lay down.”

With some sense of being deprived, cutting it off short of an orgasm, he listened. Mindfully, he pulled out, and sat back on the bed. Martin crawled towards him with hungry eyes, straddling his hips eagerly.

“I wanna see your face when I make you cum,” Rekkles said dangerously.

Jankos’s hard-on noticeably twitched as Martin positioned himself on top of his jungler, languidly lowering himself down onto his length. Marcin threw his head back in euphoria, and Rekkles watched him intently, deliberately dragging out his movements to tease his partner. He leaned forward to plant affectionate kisses on Jankos’s neck while he rode him. As he drove his hips down once again, he hit the perfect angle, sending waves of pleasure rippling up his spine. He moved faster, touching himself to intensify the sensation. Marcin gripped his hips, greedily thrusting up into him, synchronized with his movements. 

Rekkles grit his teeth and grunted, his muscles tensing up in throes of orgasm as he weakly fought to continue riding Jankos. Cum coated his own stomach and dripped down onto his fingers. With a few half-hearted thrusts, Jankos followed suit, spilling deep inside of Martin. He shuddered and moaned loudly, every subtle movement of Rekkles’s body sent electricity through his sensitive cock. 

They stumbled around the room for a moment, wiping off and cleaning themselves up. Thoroughly exhausted, they got changed and collapsed onto the bed together. Like any normal person, this was a simple feat for Martin. Jankos, however, managed to bonk his head on the headboard in the process, not realizing how close it was. He whimpered comically, and they both erupted into laughter. 

“Owww! Fuck me,” he whined in disbelief, rubbing the back of his head.

“ _ Again _ ,” the AD carry questioned jokingly. 

“Let’s worry about that in the morning,” Jankos grinned. 

  
  
  
  



	10. Odd Man Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some perspective on Miky's struggles.

Jankos stretched his limbs, rolling over in bed. He glanced over at the shapes on his floor cast by the slats of sunlight that glinted through the blinds. He squinted as he adjusted to the brightness. The weather today was a far cry from what it had been the night before.  _ The night before _ ? He lazily turned over to face Rekkles, who was still sleeping peacefully. The jungler noted how unassuming he looked at that moment, in comparison to his usual stern expression. Marcin shook the urge to place a loving kiss on his forehead, and reached for his phone on the night table. The time lit up on the screen.

“Oh, shit,” he hissed, kicking back the covers.

In the process, he ripped the blankets off of Martin, as well. He jostled the AD carry’s arm like a kid trying to wake up their parents on Christmas morning. Except the feeling here wasn’t that of excitement, but more like dread. They were hopelessly late for scrims. The team was gonna kill them. Well, Grabbz, at least.

“Rekkles!”

The Swede sat up, grumbling and rubbing the sleep from his eyes. It didn’t take him long to get the picture, though. His sight focused on Jankos hopping around on one leg, hastily trying to pull up some pants and get dressed. 

“Oh my god! Scrims! What time is it,” he asked, now also frantically pacing the room, trying to get dressed. 

“It’s past one, man! We’re fucking doomed,” Jankos exclaimed, his head momentarily caught in the jersey he was carelessly putting on.

Martin picked up the same shirt Jankos had lent him after his shower the night before, not wanting to dirty anymore of Marcin’s things. As he went to pull the crumpled piece of clothing over his head, he noticed the stain across the front of it. 

“Oh, fuck,” he laughed, “I uh, might have used this to clean up last night.”

He threw the crusty shirt at Jankos playfully, who caught it instinctively. The Pole grimaced, tossing it across the room like it burned his skin.

“I’ll have to frame that later,” Jankos taunted, “sell it on ebay. Rekkles’s cum rag - 1 million euros, please.”

Rekkles grabbed the first shirt he saw off of a hanger in Jankos’s closet. There was no time for outfit coordination, let alone asking his teammate’s permission. His own clothes were undoubtedly still soggy from last night’s downpour, and there wasn’t a moment to spare. He picked a random pair of sweats from a drawer and shimmied into them, snatching up his phone before dashing out of the front door with his jungler.

\----------------------------------

They burst into the G2 house, practically drifting into the gaming room, their socks sliding on the hardwood floor in their haste. As their teammates spun around in their chairs to see what all the commotion was about, the two immediately began spouting apologies as they fought to catch their breath. 

Wunder was happily playing WoW, unconcerned with their tardiness. He didn’t even turn to look at them, just offered a sarcastic, “nice of you to join us”.

Grabbz was, of course, the most visibly disappointed out of everyone. But that was his job, after all. 

“Oh, come on, Graaaaaaaaaaaaabbz,” Jankos pleaded, wrapping an arm around his coach’s shoulders, “it’s not like you don’t disappoint us with your drafts every day. Let’s just call it even,” he jested.

Rekkles was already in his spot, booting up the client. 

“We’ve still got time for a few games,” he said optimistically, “I’m really sorry, guys.”

“Yes, we’re sorry,” Jankos repeated in a loud, obnoxious voice, which wasn’t helping his case.

Caps was playing soloQ. He couldn’t care less as long as he was getting in practice one way or another. Besides, showing up late wasn’t a regular thing for any of his teammates, and he was a very forgiving person. However, he didn’t want to say anything, either. Between Miky and Grabbz, the air was thick with tension. He felt like the innocent sibling that was about to watch his brothers get flayed alive by their parents, yet couldn’t do anything but stand by. 

“Blame my shitty driving,” the Pole joked, trying to play off the stress of the moment. 

He walked over to hug Miky from behind.

“I’m sorry to keep you waiting, my handsome boy,” Jankos tried to greet him like always, but Miky ducked out from under his touch, rolling sideways a few feet in his gaming chair.

“Go sit down, Jankos,” he said harshly, “let’s fucking start already.”

It stung, but he realized how bad this must’ve looked. The team knew he’d invited Rekkles to his place last night, and here they are, showing up late together the day after. Despite any amount of approval Miky had expressed about them in the past, it wasn’t a green light to fuck. In fact, he knew Miky well enough to know that even if every bone in his body despised the idea of them being an item, he would try to pretend that it didn’t hurt him. And now Jankos felt conflicted and heartbroken for betraying that generosity, as he watched his support struggle with his emotions, clearly upset, but desperately trying to keep the peace. 

As much as he wanted to resolve everything that instant, there was no time. They all got straight to playing, starting picks and bans with their unlucky scrim partners of the day. Mihael fought to stay focused on the monitor in front of him. He hadn’t even managed to face the man sitting next to him yet. For fear of what? He wasn’t really sure. What Rekkles might say, how he might look at him? Or perhaps that the sight of him would tip his anger and jealousy over the edge. There was a combination of depression and fury burning a hole through his chest, and as much as he told himself it was out of his hands, nothing eased the pain.  _ Sure, we can’t control who other people fall for, but that doesn’t change the fact that I still wish it were me.  _

Yes, he had his old friends from Misfits, who he saw once in a blue moon. He had Caps and Wunder, Duffman and Grabbz, but another realization was dawning on him. Not only were his feelings unreciprocated by his AD carry, but recently, the teammate who had always been his biggest supporter was funneling all of his attention to his star-crossed love. And he craved that attention now more than ever. Jankos, his hype man, his comic relief - gone with the wind. It was true that he’d always shrugged off his jungler’s persistent advances, but their friendship had never faltered. He didn’t think he’d ever given Marcin reason to feel like he was being taken for granted. The envy to win the affections of Rekkles was a contributing factor to his shitty mood, but he was also coming to grips that it meant losing Jankos, too. All of this happened so quickly, before he even had the chance to get over Perkz’s absence. 

So, when Jankos had the nerve to come to him, with arms open and a coddling tone like this horror story wasn’t literally unfolding before his eyes - he snapped. He didn’t mean for it to come off as sharply as it did, but there was no taking it back. Besides, the emotions behind it were real, and maybe they had a right to know. He finished out scrims, managing to stay relatively cool. He felt like a zombie, going through the motions, trying to block out the voices of his teammates as they resounded in his headset. When the final game ended and their nexus fell, so did his patience. He stood up from his seat and stole his first glance at Rekkles. The AD Carry was wearing familiar clothes, familiar in the way that they weren’t his, but Jankos’s. It made his stomach churn. Martin stared up at him with a concerned expression, but he didn’t dare say anything. 

Miky pushed past Grabbz. He didn’t have the capacity for any post-game discussion that day. The support sulked off towards his room, not saying a word. He felt like a scrapped project, a torn page from someone’s book, crumpled up and tossed in the bin. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that I post short chapters. But thank you for reading regardless.


	11. Changing Tides

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Miky's perspective as he tries to mend his relationship with Jankos, but is forced to confront nagging thoughts.

Caps shot Rekkles a worried look from his desk.

“Don’t even worry about it, guys. I’ve got this,” Jankos said confidently.

“I don’t know if that’s a good idea,” Wunder called after him, but the jungler had already taken off down the hallway.

He tried to barge into Miky’s room like he usually did, only to find that it was locked. Sitting there and attempting to convince him to open the door wasn’t going to work, and he knew that. Miky wasn’t the bargaining type. He sighed and shuffled back to the game room, searching around for a pen and a piece of paper. 

Like a kid in a kindergarten class, he sat criss cross on the floor in front of Miky’s room. He scribbled on the sheet before sliding it under the door along with the pen.

The support was on his bed, idly browsing through his twitter with headphones in when he noticed the movement out of his peripheral vision. He rolled his eyes. This could only be the work of one particular team idiot. But he indulged him, rolling off his mattress to retrieve the note. 

**Do you hate me?**

⃞⃞ Yes

⃞ No

Mihael hated himself for laughing, but he did anyway. Just when he was expecting to unfold some heartfelt note, he got some grade level survey instead. He should have known better. But in a way, it felt good, knowing that Jankos still cared enough to bother with him, even when he’s clearly in a bad mood. 

He smirked to himself as he aggressively checked off the ‘yes’ box and wrote ‘you’re so stupid’ in bold letters. He shoved the note back out into the hall.

A couple of seconds passed before he heard the jungler dramatically cry “Mikkkkyyyyyyy” from the other side of the door.

Marcin flipped the paper over and drew what was possibly the ugliest heart he’d ever seen, but oh well, it was in ink, so he couldn’t erase it. Next to his doodle, he jotted a message before pushing the memo back to his teammate.

Mihael smiled down at the messy handwriting:

♡  _ I’ll make it up to you, I promise _

\------------------------------------

Later that evening, Jankos was back at his place, thinking of how exactly he would follow through on that promise. They needed to have a proper talk, obviously, but first he had to get back on the support’s good side.  _ What is something that Miky is guaranteed to like?  _

He shot up in bed, suddenly struck with an idea.

“I’m a fucking genius,” he announced proudly to himself.

\-------------------

Mihael was lazily perusing the newest titles on CrunchyRoll, hoping to find something interesting. His bored daze was only broken by a soft knock on his door. He opened it, surprised to find Caps standing on the opposite side. 

“Uh, the delivery person said this was under your name, so I guess it’s yours,” he shrugged, holding out a box of pizza.

Miky furrowed his brow, looking equally as confused as Caps, but he wasn’t about to pass up free pizza. 

“You want some,” he offered his midlaner as he took the box.

“Nah. Thanks, though,” Rasmus smiled.

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell the other guys,” he added mischievously. 

He tossed the delivery onto his desk and opened it. It was a pizza shaped like a heart. And upon closer inspection, he noticed a note written on the top of the box. It read, “Jankos says he’s sorry”. He felt bad for whichever worker was forced to do all of that just because of his simping teammate, but it felt special all the same. He pulled out his phone as he took his first bite.

Miky:  _ Everything sucks since you left. _

Perkz: 🥺  _ what’s wrong?  _

Miky:  _ I’m like 99.99999999% sure Jankos and Rekkles fucked last night. AND they made us miss half our scrims today. _

Perkz:  _ Jankos would never pick Rekkles over you, and you know that. _

Miky:  _ They had a sleepover. Just the two of them. Martin showed up in Jankos’s clothes. What else should I think? _

Perkz:  _ Just talk to him. That’s one of the only things he’s good at.  _

Miky: 😒 _Fine..._ _I miss you, btw. Well, we all miss you._

Perkz:  _ Dw, bb. I’ll see you at rift rivals  _ 😉

\-----------------

“Heeeyyyy, stupid….thanks. for. the. pizza,” he said out loud as he typed the message on his phone and sent it to Jankos.

Jankos:  _ You’re welcome, handsome. Sorry again about today. _

Miky:  _ About what part, exactly?  _

Jankos:  _ What does that mean? _

The support paused for a second, thinking about how he wanted to play this. It felt wrong to expect his teammates to cut off their relationship all because of him, as much as he hated being the loser in this hopeless situation. And Jankos went through the trouble to apologize, so he clearly still cares. A darker side of his intentions drifted back to Perkz’s words.  _ Jankos would never pick Rekkles over you, and you know that.  _ The damaged part of his self-esteem pried at this sentiment, and his mind revisited all of the sweet nothings his friend had whispered (more like shouted) to him over the years. And in that moment, changing face to spare himself the risk of losing  _ both _ Jankos and Rekkles didn’t seem like such a terrible idea. But he didn’t even know if he was capable of such a thing.

Miky:  _ I meant, you don’t have to feel sorry. I was just in a bad mood this morning because my wrists were hurting a bit. _

He lied.

Jankos could see through it.

Jankos:  _ Just say the magic words, Miky. Your friendship is more important to me. _

Perkz called it, but it didn’t seem that way. He wanted to tear him limb from limb over the fact that if it was the truth, then he wouldn’t have gone for it in the first place. But he couldn’t. And it only made him feel worse. 

Miky:  _ Seriously, don’t worry about it. I do appreciate the pizza, tho _ 🙏

The jungler read the text and set his phone face down on the bed, sighing. 

“Is this guy serious right now,” he asked the bedroom walls. 

He knew that Miky had something to say about him and Rekkles, but it looked like it would take more time to get the truth out of him. But at the end of the day, this was his friend he was dealing with, and the last thing he wanted to do was fuck things up worse than he already had. 

Jankos:  _ If you say so  _ ❤️  _ I hope your wrists keep hurting so I can hand-feed you more cake~ _

\-------------------------------------

The whole ordeal had more or less forced Rekkles and Jankos to keep things platonic for the time being. It was something they had mutually agreed to. For Martin, it was an easy decision on behalf of his professionalism. And for Marcin, it went without saying that the season at hand took priority over romance. If there was any potential for team drama, now was not the time. And as short-lived as his fling with his ADC had been, he figured it was better to nip something in the bud than kill it in full bloom. Besides, who wouldn’t count a one-night stand as a win in this scenario? 

A level of relative normalcy had returned to G2, and they pushed through playoffs, still with a solid lead. Miky had noticed the change of tone in his teammate’s interactions, and he couldn’t deny his sense of guilt. However, the lot of them managed to maintain their friendships despite it all. Miky and Rekkles still played duoQ almost exclusively with each other. And Jankos was always cordial, but Miky still noted his distance ever since the day he snapped at him. The support figured he should make an effort to close that gap, feeling like it was all his fault to begin with.

On most scrim days, the jungler would arrive an hour or two early to workout at their in-house gym. Jankos used to invite him to join frequently, but after getting shut down so many times, he’d given up a long time ago. Miky wasn’t really the “fitness” type, and when he did exercise, he preferred to be alone so he could zone out and listen to music. 

Like clockwork, Jankos showed up just around the time Miky had expected him to, and he caught him at the door. Gym shorts on and everything, ready to join him for his morning routine.

“Do my eyes deceive me,” he asked incredulously, his volume way too loud for this time of day. 

Although it was mid-morning, Miky woke up “early” for this. 

“I figured after all of that pizza, I needed it,” the support reasoned.

Jankos was pleasantly surprised. Miky was making an outward attempt to spend time with him, and for the first time in a long time, it wasn’t on his terms. Throughout their friendship, Jankos was always the one trying to involve himself in Mihael’s hobbies, but rarely vice versa. The jungler never really complained, seeing as his interests were nearly non-existent apart from streaming, especially during the bustle of championships. But this was a refreshing change of pace. He was willing to bet that it would probably wear off by tomorrow, so he might as well take advantage of it now. Pulling open the door to the gym, he gestured for Miky to go ahead.

“Ladiesss fiiiirst,” he laughed.

“Pfffft,” Miky shook his head, “go easy on me, okay?”

“If anything, I should be nervous,” Jankos nudged him, “handsome Miky is already OP. Handsome AND buff Miky...oh my god, can you imagine,” he smirked.

Miky smiled, shaking off the compliment like usual.

“Where do you normally start?” 

“Well, it’s important to stretch,” Jankos said matter of factly, as he walked over to the mats. 

Nobody on the team really came to him for advice, or ever took him seriously for that matter. His role as the team clown suited him, and he wouldn’t have it any other way. But it was validating to have someone want to learn  _ something _ from him for once, or at least pretend. Seeing as he was the oldest one on the team, he would think this would happen more often, but as much as he tried to jog his memory, no instance came to mind before now.

Watching their forms in the big mirror that spanned the wall, Miky followed Jankos’s lead. Mihael glanced over at his jungler’s concentrated face and noticed how quiet he was when he was focused. He liked this side of Marcin. Perhaps he would have to start exercising with him more often. Jankos caught him staring and quirked a small smile. Something about that brief exchange made Miky feel flushed, or maybe he was already working up a sweat after 5 minutes of stretching. 

“So, what kind of workout did you want to do? Like cardio or weights,” Marcin asked.

“I dunno. Whatever, I guess,” Miky shrugged.

“I was just gonna do weight training on machines today. But since you’re here, wanna spot me? Usually if I want to do the bench press, I have to beg Wunder to join me.”

“Are you sure that’s a good idea? I’m not very strong, and you remember how bad I was at first aid training, right,” the support joked.

“If I die, I die,” Jankos declared.

Mihael rolled his eyes, following his teammate as he excitedly rushed over to the benches and began adjusting the weight. He would be lying if he said he wasn’t at least a little impressed by the amount Jankos could lift. The jungler didn’t really appear that strong, always having a lanky frame, but it looked like all of his dedication was paying off. Marcin was far from the type to go shirtless anywhere, let alone at the gym, but Miky found himself wondering what that might look like. 

He stood over him as he completed a few sets of reps with the bar. His eyes lingered on the jungler’s arms, the way his muscles flexed with each press. Marcin’s gaze was steady. His labored breathing was only interrupted by the occasional grunt as he pushed up the weight with all of his might. 

“Uh, Miky? This is the part where you’re supposed to help me,” Jankos said calmly, resting the bar across his chest, unable to lift it back onto the stand.

“Huh? Oh!”

He jolted awake from his daydream, assisting his friend. 

“Shit,” he said, adjusting his glasses, “maybe waking up early is my limit,” he made up an excuse. 

“You’re crazy! We’re just getting warmed up,” Jankos exclaimed, massaging Miky’s shoulders a bit.

Marcin adjusted some of the weight off and motioned for Miky to lay down. In typical cheerleader style, Jankos spurred him on like some over-enthusiastic PE teacher. It felt easy at first, but with each rep, gravity began to take its toll. However, his competitive nature refused to let him slow down. Even if it meant pushing himself too far, he wasn’t about to be beaten so easily. He had to do at least as many as Jankos. And he made a point out of it, doing exactly one more rep than his jungler. 

“Show off,” Marcin teased, as he set the bar back up on the stand.

Miky sat up, his arms like jello. He stood up, but only made it a few steps. The combination of standing too quickly and lack of oxygen to his brain made for an intense wave of dizziness that hit him like a ton of bricks. The vertigo crashed down on him and his vision went blurry. The support could feel himself about to stumble over, and reached out for the nearest thing to grab ahold of. But there was nothing, and the sensation of falling in slow motion was the only thing his senses could register. 

“Dude,” Jankos exclaimed, quickly catching his friend.

To Miky, it felt like he snatched him out of thin air. Marcin hoisted him upright, one arm around his waist to hold him steady against his own body, the other hand gently caressing his cheek as he waited for his teammate’s gaze to refocus. 

“Are you ok, man?”

“I went too hard,” Mihael laughed softly.

His face was paler than usual. He closed his eyes and let his head rest on Jankos’s shoulder. He wanted to sit down, but as long as Marcin propped him up, it was all the same to him. 

“Alright, princess. Let’s get you back to the tower. You’ve got to recover before scrims,” the jungler said, gently scooping the support up into his arms. 

The warmth of his sweaty chest radiated through his shirt, a welcome contrast to the cold sweats that washed over the brunette in waves as he slowly regained consciousness. His head thumped against the wall as Jankos turned a corner too carelessly. The impact shook him out of his daze, and he struggled in the jungler's grasp. 

“Ow! Jankos, you can put me down now! It was just a dizzy spell,” Miky insisted.

Despite his protests, the Pole managed to carry him up to his room, only knocking Miky’s limbs into various pieces of furniture  _ a couple _ more times along the way. Mihael rolled his eyes as Jankos softly set him down on the bed and handed him a bottle of water.

“Thanks,” he said sarcastically, “I think I’m more injured now than I was before.” 

“Welllllll, maybe if you didn’t tryhard it back there,” Marcin replied snidely.

“I couldn’t let myself get shown up by a boosted animal,” Miky teased.

“Miiikkkkkyyyyyyy,” he cried in mock betrayal, “come on, you’ve gotta give me some credit!”

The support looked down at the water bottle in his hands, tilting it back and forth as he wondered if he should say the words that came to mind. He awkwardly tried to string together a compliment.

“Actually,” he began softly, “you’re in really good shape. I guess I never noticed until I was in there with you, but yeah. Uh, I can tell the difference.” 

“Really,” Jankos flexed his arms dramatically, “I’m just so sexy that you passed out, huh?”

“Yeah, something like that.”

Jankos searched his teammate’s eyes for the joke, instinctively waiting for the punchline after something so genuine from him. But nothing followed. Miky only adjusted his glasses and smiled back at him, dawning some expression that the jungler had never seen before. In fact, the intensity of it forced him to look away, but he recollected himself, changing the subject.

“Um, I’d better go finish up if I wanna stay looking good for you,” he teased, “but I’ll see you at practice.” 

Jankos saluted him casually as he marched off to go complete his workout. Mihael was concerned over how badly he didn’t want him to leave. He wished the two of them could hang out in his room all day and watch anime. And the idea of how much they would actually be “watching” tugged at his imagination. But that’s all this was - imagination. Some weird seed that had planted itself in a passing thought and was now growing out of control. Or hopefully, it really was just the overexertion getting to his head. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Angsty, and scheming? Idk about this one, boiz.  
> I hope you like it, and I hope the direction this is taking isn't NO BUENO cuz idek how I feel about it.


	12. Handle with Care

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Everyone gets hurt, and poor Wunder is an innocent bystander.

“Honestly, why do you let him do this to you,” Rekkles asked disapprovingly, as he ran a hand through the jungler’s buzzcut.

“It’s practical. No fringe in my eyes when I play, no headset hair. Besides, I’ve gotten used to being Baldmade,” Oskar smiled. 

“That, or Pete is inting and you’re covering for him,” Martin smirked, taking a sip of the strong drink the bartender had just made for him.

They were out together for a night of partying before the final week of Spring Playoffs. The last teams standing were Fnatic, G2, and Astralis. And the upcoming games would make for one hell of a banger. The two agreed it would be good to go out, blow off some steam, and focus on something aside from League to ease the pressure. 

At the club, they didn’t really have any specific plans for the evening. Maybe they’d each find some girl to spend the night with, maybe they wouldn’t. The last thing they expected was to be taking each other home. But as the hour grew later and the drinks got stronger, they both quit giving a fuck. 

Miky was watching some anime alone in his room when he suddenly heard some bustling about in the flat. He pulled his headphones off to confirm it wasn’t just a sound in the show he was watching. He heard more commotion. This was odd, considering it was 3AM. He snuck out into the main hall and peeked down the stairs. His stomach twisted into knots and his mouth wrenched into a frown of disgust. Rekkles had Selfmade pinned up against the wall, the pair engaged in a sloppy makeout session. He could tell they’d barely made it into the door before they were all over each other, the lock not fully latched. Not only did he feel himself boiling with envy for his own selfish reasons, but he also found himself angry for Jankos, too. Sure, they had pretty much cut things off, but poor Jankos was at home, probably asleep, none the wiser. And if it weren’t for Miky walking in on this trist, he’d likely never know, either. It left a bad taste in his mouth, even if there wasn’t anything stopping Rekkles from doing what or  _ who  _ he wanted. 

Wunder had just finished a scheduled raid with his guild in WoW, and was headed down the hall for a bathroom break. That’s when he spotted Miky, crouched at the top of the stairs, watching something intently down below. He stopped in his tracks, unsure of what might be going on. Silently, he crept up behind his teammate and leaned over him as inconspicuous as possible, trying to see the spectacle. As soon as he saw the two entangled men on the ground floor, he ducked back behind the wall, not interested in witnessing any more than he already had. Miky looked up at him, his face now dead and expressionless, and Wunder’s in full on ‘my soul just left my body’ mode. 

Regardless, the toplaner knew that it wasn’t doing anyone any favors for his support to be spying like that. He picked him up from behind, wrapping his arms around his chest in a giant bear hug, and dragged him back to his room against his will.

“It’s for your own good,” he whispered quietly, closing the door to Miky’s room to leave him to his own devices.

But Wunder couldn’t just let it go without saying something. This was an enemy in their territory, after all. And he was disturbing the peace, no less. He stood at the top of the stairs, unafraid of being seen.

“Rekkles, I thought you knew we have a strict policy against bringing girls back to the house,” he called down loftily, a clear jab at Selfmade.

Martin jumped a little, blushing as he turned to look up at his top laner. But Oskar was less impressed, flicking the Dane off as he possessively pulled Rekkles back into a passionate kiss. Wunder rolled his eyes and stalked off back to his room, not in the mood to cause a scene.

What started as an innocent kiss in the corner of a dark nightclub, turned into Oskar spending the night in Martin’s bed. When they woke up, it was still early, and the house was silent. They were thirsty, sore, and naked. 

“Fuck,” Oskar hissed, his head reeling as he sat up and tried to orientate himself. 

Martin groaned, rolling around under the sheets, struggling to find a position to soothe his nausea. Selfmade interlaced his fingers with Rekkles’s, squeezing his hand tightly to get his attention. 

“I’ve gotta get going, man. I feel like shit, and the guys are gonna get worried if I’m not back soon,” he explained softly.

Martin’s bloodshot eyes fluttered open just long enough for him to lean up and place a soft kiss on the jungler’s cheek. 

“That’s for good luck. You’re gonna need it when we stomp you guys next week,” he smiled. 

Selfmade scoffed.

“ _ Right,  _ I almost thought you were getting all sentimental on me,” he replied sarcastically.

\------------------------------------------

By the time all of the G2 members were up and going about their business in the morning, Rekkles was still in bed, suffering. Wunder dug up an ounce of sympathy to throw a bottle of water at the sleeping ADC’s head. The plastic crackled as it collided with his face, and Rekkles groaned. But at least the toplaner threw it with love, and it’s the thought that counts. After all, he could’ve gone around the house gossiping with all of his teammates, but he didn’t. He kept quiet, just like Miky did. Nobody aside from them knew what had transpired the night before. 

Seeing that Rekkles wasn’t up by the time he had arrived at the house, Jankos grew concerned. He walked up the staircase, but right as he was about to knock on the Swede’s door, Miky grabbed him by the wrist. The support had a haunted look on his face, and he shook his head grimly as Jankos stared at him questioningly. Miky pulled him aside, into the privacy of his room. 

“Don’t bother him right now. He’s not feeling good,” Mihael explained, not wanting his jungler to see the state of Rekkles and put two and two together. 

“What? But that’s why I want to check on him. See if he needs anything,” the Pole explained.

“Wunder’s got it covered. Besides, no offense, but you’re super fucking annoying and I think it would only make him feel worse,” Miky tried to joke with him.

“Ouch, Miky. That really hurts, you know. Besides, I think I’ll take my chances,” he said, turning on his heel to go back towards Rekkles’s room stubbornly.

The urge to protect his friend, fueled by the anger that he felt for Rekkles in that moment - culminated in a thoughtless, panicked move. He dashed in front of Marcin, blocking his way. Jankos raised a brow, almost looking irritated, and the support flung his arms around the jungler’s neck, pulling him into a very deep, very unexpected kiss. The Pole stood there in shock, unable to react, his hands hovering on Miky’s chest for a moment. Wunder, who was just coming back up the stairs to bring Rekkles a bite to eat, froze at the top of the landing. From the angle, Miky couldn’t see who it was, but he quickly heard the speedy  _ thump thump thump  _ of whoever it was as they rushed back downstairs. 

Time seemed to catch up to itself and Jankos, perhaps more harshly than he meant to, pushed Miky off of him, the support’s back thudding against the wall behind him. 

“What the fuck, dude,” Jankos raised his voice.

Miky didn’t have words, he just stared back like a wounded dog.

“This jealousy thing is a real issue, man. Let it go! Jesus christ, I’m not going in there to fuck him.You already ruined that. But if I wanna check on my friend, I will, for fuck’s sake,” he spat venomously. 

“Whatever. Go ahead,” Mihael’s voice cracked, and he looked down at the floor, defeatedly disappearing back into his room.

Jankos shook his head, irritated, but finally walked into Rekkles’s room. The smell of sex and alcohol assulted his senses immediately. The Swede, still drowsy and dazed, rolled over to see who had just entered. He felt a sense of guilt crash over him as the jungler’s piercing eyes landed on the black and blue hickeys that littered his neck. He pulled the sheets up around himself to hide, but the damage was already done.

“Jankos, I thought it didn’t matter anymore. I-”

The jungler couldn’t even bring himself to look Martin in the face. He stared at his own feet and sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He was right, it shouldn’t have mattered anymore. But somehow, he still felt gutted on the spot.

“Don’t worry about it,” he said with an empty tone, leaving the room he wished he'd never entered in the first place, and feeling like a complete ass for what he’d just done to Miky. 

  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My god, this is SAD. I'm sorry. I hope you enjoy drama and angst.   
> But LMAO at Wunder walking in on weird shit.


	13. Shake Me Down

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> sad boy hours and coping mechanisms

To top off their horrible morning, they now all had to sit side by side in the gaming room for the next few hours of practice. Wunder was in his seat running some dailies on World of Warcraft while they waited for their scrim team to log on, not daring to say a word at this point. Rekkles sat with a small trash bin on his lap, pausing to wretch into it every so often. He rested his head on the desk while he waited, looking like he was on death’s door. Jankos tried to block out his surroundings. He clicked the first person he could find who was streaming on Twitch, headphones on with the volume cranked up. Miky took a similar course of action, except he was listening to music on his phone. He kept his head face down on the table in front of him, face resting in the crook of his folded arms. 

Caps was aware that something was off, even though he hadn’t witnessed all of the debauchery himself. Not that he hadn’t been awake when everything ensued, but at the time, he was too engrossed in SoloQ to notice what was going on in the house. Grabbz could also sense that something was amiss, but he knew better than to try and make a big deal out of it yet. He still erred on the side of caution, walking on eggshells the rest of the day and being careful not to nitpick or ask too much of them. The synergy was disgraceful for the entirety of their practice. The only people talking were Wunder and Caps. Miky refused to stay botside with his ADC, roaming wherever he wanted to. And Jankos played so distractedly that it was as if his brain was on another planet. Rekkles tried his hardest to carry the bottom lane alone, but his KDA suffered tremendously every game. 

“Um, first of all, I’m not sure how the fuck we won as many games as we did today, because - You know what, I’m not gonna say anything because I think we all know our weaknesses here,” Grabbz began, “I’m not your mother, so I’m gonna leave it to you guys to work it out amongst yourselves. You are all great on an individual level, you know this, but there’s no point being on a team if you can’t play like one. I have a lot of faith in you all, and I know you’re smart and caring enough to sort out your personal issues. I’m proud of you for all showing up and trying today. But whatever is on your minds, you have until Friday’s finals to resolve it. Good luck, boys. And um, good work today -  _ I guess _ .” 

\-------------------------

Rekkles sat on the cold tile floor of the shower with his knees pulled up to his chest. The hot water ran over his back, but it wasn’t enough to counter the numbness he was battling inside. He’d finished washing up a long time ago, but his mind wasn’t done bereaving him yet. He felt horrible, and it wasn’t because of his hangover. The sight of Jankos in his room, looking so injured, it played on a loop in his memory. What was worse was that the jungler didn’t even know who he’d slept with yet, and that would probably only add insult to injury - whenever he found out. It’s not like there was any romance or affection for Selfmade, and the same conversely. They were good friends who admired and respected each other. Nothing more, nothing less. And he knew this because that wasn’t their first time casually hooking up like that. They’d done it once before on a night out, way back before he ever even thought about joining G2, and it never changed anything between them. 

And maybe some part of him thought that his new jungler was the same way. That since they knew they couldn’t be together for the sake of the team, for the sake of Miky, that their one night stand was nothing more than sex with no strings attached. But he was very wrong, as it turned out. And it stung because he wanted something more than casual with Jankos, too. But the situation was so beyond fucked. How could they even approach the subject? So neither of them had. They’d just swept it under the rug. 

\-----------------------------

As soon as practice ended, Jankos didn’t waste any time getting the hell out of there. But instead of going home, he found himself on an endless drive to nowhere. It was a chance to clear his head, even if the thought had crossed his mind once or twice to give up and set the GPS back to Poland. Dusk had fallen and the headlights of oncoming traffic blurred like halos as tears welled up in his eyes and spilled over. The taste of salt in his mouth, just like the sea where he somehow ended up at the end of his absentminded journey. With some four hours missing off the clock and his car nearly drained of all petrol, he got out of the driver’s seat, feeling stiff. Berlin was about as far away from the ocean as his hometown was, but something about it felt nostalgic, despite the fact that he rarely went. 

Visiting the beach at night felt off. Not that it mattered at this time of year, anyway. The wind was frigid as it whipped in from the Baltic sea. The place was eerily empty, save for the odd couple enjoying a stroll through the harbor. Lights that lined the boardwalks in the distance glimmered dimly like the beacons on liners far from shore. All was quiet, save for the breeze that rustled through the tall grass growing on the dunes. Waves broke on the sand, the high tide violent under a full moon, reminiscent of the turmoil within his chest. 

\---------------------------------

Miky had withdrawn to his room to be alone, but Wunder wasn’t about to let that happen. As often as the toplaner found his teammates annoying and insufferable, his support was always the exception. And although he couldn’t figure out what memo he must’ve missed about G2 standing for Gays2, he wasn’t about to leave his friend feeling like shit. 

He knocked on Mihael’s door softly, not really expecting an answer, but hoping for one. A few moments of silence passed before the door hesitantly clicked open. The brunette’s empty eyes and haggard beard only added to the depressed appearance of him. 

“Hm,” was the only greeting he could muster.

“Is it okay if I come in for a sec,” Wunder asked casually.

Miky sighed, but nodded and stood aside for him to enter.

Mihael flopped back onto his bed, rolling onto his side and hugging a pillow for some semblance of comfort. Martin sat in his teammate’s gaming chair and scooted it close to his bedside. 

“Today was uh…. _ bad, _ ” he began, expression like some veteran reliving trauma, “but, you know what else is bad?”

Miky looked up at him curiously and shrugged.

“Like 28% on rottentomatoes bad,” he hinted.

“Let me guess...someone made a documentary about my life,” Miky joked darkly.

“Worse than that, if you can believe it,” Wunder smirked.

He pulled out a dvd of the World of Warcraft movie that he’d been hiding behind his back. The support eyed the cover suspiciously.

“You’re right, that is pretty terrible.”

“Exactly. I thought if we watched this, maybe today will seem less shitty in perspective.”

Miky thought about it, scratching his chin skeptically.

“Oh, I bought snacks, too.”

“Deal,” Miky sat up, cracking a smile. 

\---------------------------------------------------   
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thank you all so much for your support even though this fic has been reduced to a bad telenovela at this point. lots of love <3


	14. Polarize

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys have a heart to heart - very sappy dialogue ensues.

Luka got up from his desk as he noticed the incoming video call from Jankos. He answered as he made his way back to his room for some privacy. Marcin didn’t say anything when he picked up, which was disconcerting enough, and the fatigued look on his face only added to Perkz’s worry. 

“Marcin, what’s going on,” he asked sternly as he shut his door behind him.

“I’m depressed, and I need someone to talk to,” the jungler admitted bluntly.

“Go on. Out with it, then.”

“I thought about it all day yesterday - and all night because I couldn’t sleep. And I know I’m being a man child but like...I feel DOUBLE bad because I had my feelings hurt AND I fucked up  _ big time  _ and acted like a dick to Miky because I’m an idiot and I don’t know how to take a hint. Like ooohhh my godddd, Lukaaa. What do I doooooo?”

His words were all strung together, punctuated only with his dramatic inflection rather than spaces. 

“Yeah, you’ve been fucking things up with Miky for awhile now, in case you haven’t noticed,” Luka replied sarcastically, “but what happened to you?”

“It’s stupid,” Marcin sighed, “Basically, ever since Miky was upset about the whole Rekkles situation, Martin and I stopped hanging out. Because of course, I love Miky and I don’t want him to feel bad. And Rekkles knew it was toxic for the team, so yeah - we came to an unspoken agreement, right? But you know how it is when you like someone but you can’t show it but you like them still and you think it’s mutual so you don’t move on even though you should because that’s mature and healthy but you can’t and a part of you thinks they will do the same but then they move on and you’re left feeling like a dumb loser?”

“I think that’s just a  _ you _ problem. But, I’m glad you’ve still got Miky’s back. That’s tough though, man. I would probably feel pretty fucking betrayed in that situation, too. But what can you do? You can’t really hold it against him. As for Miky, I don’t know exactly what you did. And I seriously don’t wanna know, but you need to go over there right now. You won’t feel better until you sort it out. Besides, I’m sure he’ll forgive you,” Perkz added encouragingly.

“Pfffft! I don’t know about that this time,” Jankos replied doubtfully, shaking his head. 

He internally cringed at the memory of shoving Miky away.

“But you’re right,” he agreed, “I mean, obviously, I have to fix things. I’m just being a pussy and avoiding it because I’m nervous.”

“I’m sorry I can’t chat longer, but I’ve gotta get back to smurfing on NA. I believe in you, man. You’ve got this. Tell the gang I said hi, by the way. And tell Grabbz his drafts still suck!”

\-----------------------------------

As he pulled up to the G2 house later that morning, he wished more than anything that he could disappear and avoid everybody else in the house to get straight to Miky’s room. The worst possible scenario would be running into Rekkles. Wunder, Grabbz and Caps weren’t really an issue, but he wasn’t exactly in the mood to deal with anything else at the moment. All he could focus on were his nerves, and how high strung he was at the thought of approaching his support after yesterday’s disaster. 

He finally gathered his courage and sucked it up, holding his breath as he pushed his way through the front door, keeping his eyes trained on the floor as he numbly made his way up the stairs. All he could do now was tell the truth, use his words, and pray that everything would turn out all right. Fortunately, everyone was quiet in the house, and he’d managed to dodge all of his teammates so far. He was only a few doors away from Miky’s when a floorboard creaked beneath his weight. He stiffened at the sound and the door to the right of him swung open, scaring him half to death. It was only Caps and he breathed in relief.

“Heyyyyy! Wunder and I are playing some Magic the Gathering! Wanna join,” he beamed excitedly, apparently oblivious to Jankos’s Mission Impossible.

“Uhhh, maybe later,” he shrugged.

“He’s just looking for someone he can actually beat,” Wunder called from within the room.

“Yeah, whatever,” the midlaner rolled his eyes, “he hasn’t even seen my aggro deck yet.”

\----------------------------

“Come in,” Miky’s low voice echoed.

Jankos hesitantly poked his head in the room, waiting for Miky to throw a book or something once he realized it was him. But he didn’t. And before he could even speak, Mihael practically stole the words out of his mouth.

“Marcin, I’m so sorry,” he said sadly, his voice cracking.

“What,” Jankos asked in disbelief.

“It’s my fault,” Miky explained, his face twisting into a pained expression. 

Marcin was only more confused, shaking his head “no” as he walked over to his support, arms extended.

“No, you didn’t do anything, Miky. I’m literally the biggest asshole in the whole world and I’m so sorry. There aren’t even enough ways to say it,” he replied.

Miky stood up and hugged him tightly, burying his face in the jungler’s jacket.

“If I wasn’t so selfish, you and Rekkles could have just been together normally and then he never would have slept with Selfmade and you could’ve been happy. And maybe if you were happy, you wouldn’t have been acting so distant with me all this time,” he sobbed into Jankos’s shoulder.

Jankos felt his heart breaking, but it had little to do with finding out that Rekkles had slept with Selfmade. It tore him up to see Miky blaming himself. Warm tears soaked through his jacket and he squeezed the brunette tighter. 

“Miky, you don’t have to apologize for anything. I was never unhappy because of you. I’m the one who needs to apologize. I’ve been a terrible friend to you lately. And yesterday, I should’ve listened to you. And...I’m sorry I pushed you, and accused you of horrible shit that isn’t true.”

“No, you were right! I was jealous, and I shouldn’t have kissed you like that. I’ve been so afraid of you drifting away from me lately. I didn’t know how to get your attention back, and I panicked. I thought after all of these years of you flirting with me, and me always giving you the cold shoulder, that maybe if I showed you some love in return that things could be normal again. Especially seeing as I was the reason the love you actually wanted didn’t work out,” he cried.

“Miky,” he sighed and softly combed his fingers through Mihael’s hair, trying to calm him down, “I shouldn’t have been ignoring you like I was. You were always playing duoQ with Rekkles, and I felt frustrated that life seemed to just go on as usual for you, while I was forced to hold myself back from what I truly wanted. But that’s not how it works, in the end. And after all of this, I know one thing for sure - your friendship is more important to me than anything. You and Perkz are my best friends from G2, maybe from my entire career, and I would give anything not to lose you, too.”

Mihael pulled away, sniffling, and looked up at him with puffy eyes. Marcin carefully wiped a rogue tear from his cheek, smiling at him weakly. 

“What do you say? Let’s just go back to normal from now on,” Jankos asked hopefully.

Miky nodded, reaching for a tissue from his desk. 

“Just one thing,” he added, “if you ever forgive that fuckboy, and you still love him, don’t let me stop you. But you’d better not neglect me, either. Cause I guess I’m a needy bitch,” he laughed.

Jankos furrowed his brow pensively.

“Are you kidding me? I’m already thinking of how to con you into kissing me again,” he teased. 

Miky paused, looking up at his jungler curiously with a small smirk. 

“Con me? You just have to ask.”

Marcin blushed a little, evidently not expecting his response. 

The blonde held out his hand.

“May I,” he asked with a cheeky grin.

And the support happily interlaced his fingers with his teammate’s, the jungler tenderly pulling him in. And as their lips collided, all of their accumulated wounds were healing. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Things are getting a little backwards in these parts. For now the jankos/miky fans can celebrate, but we'll see for how long????
> 
> I guess tiktok is asking the hard-hitting questions: "is it gay to kiss the homies?" We may never know.
> 
> I really don't know how we ended up here, y'all. But thanks a billion for reading and supporting my disgustingly short chapters <3


	15. Crossroads

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boys will be boys - and by that I mean football and cars.

Rekkles had somehow handled another afternoon of awkward scrimms. He was certain that half of his team thought he was the lowest of the low, but his tumultuous thoughts alone were enough to damper any motivation to try and fix things. It had only been two days, after all. What could he expect? The wounds were still too fresh to scab over, like the unfading bruises on his collarbone, filling him with regret every time he looked in the mirror. Jankos’s eyes never betrayed his feelings when they happened to spare him a passing glance. They offered Rekkles no light, just a callous flicker of impatience. 

\---------------------

“You know, I think Broxah was wayyyy better for your mental,” Caps said, playfully hopping onto the couch next to the ADC as he was lifelessly reviewing VODs. 

“Agreed,” he sighed with an empty tone.

“Isn’t there something better you should be watching right now,” the midlaner chimed optimistically.

Rekkles raised a brow as Rasmus plucked the remote from his lap, clicking through various apps until he pulled up a football match.

“It’s not live anymore, but you forgot about it, didn’t you,” he smiled, nudging the blonde.

“Oh shit. Yeah, it completely slipped my mind. And I was really hyped for this match, too...But, you don’t even like sports.”

“That’s true. But I like you. And it would be lame to watch football without some friends, right? So, as long as you don’t mind me asking a million questions,” he insisted.

“Caps, you really don’t have t-”

“Wait! We need to get into character,” Caps interrupted, running off to go find something. 

Rekkles waited there, dumbfounded, until his teammate came jogging back into the room with two blue stripes of war paint smeared across his cheeks. 

“Your turn,” he chirped, swiping some matching pigment onto the ADC’s face with the dexterity of a five year old.

“Where the hell did you find face paint,” Martin laughed.

“Uhh....not sure if it’s made specifically for faces,” he said, squinting at the tube of acrylic paint, “but it says non-toxic, so it’s okay. Trust me, I’m a professional - Hold on! We’re still missing one more thing!”

The  _ pat pat pat _ of his socked feet scampering away on the wooden floor like an excited dog made Rekkles smile despite himself. 

He returned moments later, tossing a huge bag of crisps onto the coffee table and handing Martin a beer. He held an entire carton of orange juice in the crook of his arm for himself. 

“I thought you only drank it “freshly squeezed”,” Rekkles quirked a brow.

“Yeah, well….the team stopped supporting my habit long ago,” he shrugged, “this will have to do.”

They started the game and Rekkles huddled up next to the Dane, cheerfully humming the anthem as IFK Göteborg ran out onto the field. 

\----------------------------

Jankos and Miky had agreed to ditch the awkward atmosphere of the gaming house after practice that day. The support instinctively gripped the armrest console, knuckles turning white as the jungler drove them around aimlessly. In reality, the Pole hadn’t pulled out any  _ Fast & Furious  _ driving moves yet, but that was the key word -  _ yet. _

“So, what should we do? Pull up on the Fnatic house or nah,” Miky asked, adjusting his sunglasses for dramatic effect.

“You know I’m a simp for Bad Boy Miky, but honestly, I’d rather you just take that aggression out on me,” Jankos replied suggestively.

“Aww,” the support said disappointedly, “to be fair, I really just wanted to see you and Selfmade in a vodka fueled Polish brawl, but that is pretty unrealistic.”

“Unrealistic? It could totally happen,” Jankos laughed, “but I have a suspicious feeling that you only want to see me get my ass beat.”

“Maybbeeeee. I think you would probably lose, all things considered. The slav aura is too strong with Oskar. He doesn’t even have to be wearing Adidas, you just know - he is one with the three stripes,” he joked. 

“Don’t tempt me, Miky.”

\--------------------------------

As hard as Rasmus tried to hold his head up, he slumped off about an hour into the game. Traditional sports weren’t his forte, but in his good nature he wanted to put in the effort to lift his friend’s spirits. Even the sudden cries and cheers from the Swede sitting beside him weren’t enough to snap him back to consciousness. It didn’t take long for Rekkles to notice the silence from his viewing partner, and he peeled his eyes away from the screen to see Caps conked out with the oversized bag of crisps still clutched in his arm. 

_ Jesus, he really does always need to be taken care of,  _ the blonde thought, smirking to himself as he placed the chips on the table and wiped the crumbs from his snoozing teammate’s chest. He gently knelt down, scooping up the smaller boy in his arms to carry him off to his room. In that moment, looking down at his friend’s face, a memory shook him with the impact of a car crash, almost making him drop Caps. The sensation of being carried, his faint awareness lulling him in and out of sleep that night at Jankos’s apartment as the jungler carried him off to his bed. And how nice it felt for once to be the child and not the adult. For someone to want to look after him, without him even having to ask. 

With the pressures of leadership and responsibility always weighing down on him heavily, a yearning part of him was receptive to moments like that. Acts without any ulterior motives, only the intent of raw compassion behind them. The craving for how much he desired to feel that again some day gnawed at his heart while he plucked a tissue from a box on the nightstand and delicately began to wipe the paint from his midlaner’s cheeks. The indigo hue was no longer a tribute to his favorite football club, but rather a mirror of his emotions, now extinguished of the flame that burned like an olympic torch only weeks earlier. 

Caps’s eyes fluttered open as Rekkles swiped once more at the blue stain, smushing his baby-like face with the slightest pressure. The Dane’s expression contorted with concern as he looked up at a very detached, weeping Martin. He jolted up.

“What happened?! Did our guys lose or something,” he asked worriedly. 

“No,” the AD Carry let out a breathy laugh, dabbing at his lashes with a tissue, “I was overcome by your cuteness. Now shut up and go back to sleep.”

Rasmus smiled softly, knowing better than to call him on his bluff. Rekkles was no stranger to crying in front of other people, so if he didn’t wanna talk about it, he clearly had his reasons. He obeyed quietly, lying back and pulling a blanket over his legs. He closed his eyes and didn’t dare to open them, even as Rekkles carried on wiping the paint from his skin, even when he felt one of the Swede’s rogue tears land on his arm.

\-----------------------------------

Meanwhile, Jankos and Miky were in an empty parking lot, practicing in his car. Yeah, Miky had failed the road test once again when he’d last gone to take it. Honestly, he was certain it was just his nerves getting to him. But more practice couldn’t hurt, and now that Jankos had his own car, there was no excuse not to. Third times the charm, right? Or fourth? He tried not to count at this point. 

“You’re smurfing, Miky. How the fuck did you fail last time?”

“Well, everything went fine until the test guy ordered me to park in this super tight spot between two nice cars. I was so nervous. Like that’s someone else’s car, ya know? And I-,” he paused and laughed, “I pulled in to the spot fine, but in my nervousness I mixed up the brake and the accelerator and I ended up on the parking median.”

Jankos burst into hysterical cackles.

“Holy shit, Miky! Your life skills, man. Thank god you don’t choke that hard in the bot lane!”

The support grinned, driving perfectly around the lot, speeding up and slowing down to get the feel for all the gears. 

“Hey, at least you don’t have to be nervous around me, riiiiight~” Jankos teased, clapping a hand on Mihael’s knee and running it along his inner thigh.

The brunette glanced at the jungler mischievously and purposely let off the clutch, stalling out the vehicle. 

“I don’t know. Do I,” he asked coyly.

“Well, we can find out if you want to, as long as you promise not to run over any parking blocks,” Jankos smirked. 

\--------------------------------

Martin had gone back out to the lounge to finish watching the game, hoping that would distract him from intrusive thoughts. But even his favorite team taking the victory wasn’t enough to boost his mood. He’s made a lot of trades in his professional life, enough to realize that the one he made in his personal life wasn’t worth it. And as well as he understood that sobbing about it wouldn’t get him anywhere, he felt helpless to take initiative. If Jankos wouldn’t so much as look at him, how in the world could he convince him to talk. 

To make matters worse, Miky probably thought he was the scum of the earth, too. Not returning his feelings and then picking his best friend over him was a touchy subject as it was. He was already treading thin ice after that debacle, and then basically turned around and put out the both of them. A frivolous night, at everyone’s expense but his. Although, now he was paying the price ten fold. Even Wunder treated him with a degree of contempt, only having the decency to play nice out of pity. 

\-------------------

“Ah, Jankos,” Miky sighed breathily. 

The two were entangled in the backseat of the jungler’s car. The support’s pants already down around his knees, and Marcin crouched down in the small space behind the console, sucking Mihael’s cock eagerly. The brunette tilted his head down, biting his lower lip to stifle any obscene noises as he watched Jankos’s every move. The Pole noticed the attention and locked eyes with him daringly, casting a small smirk, but never stopping the act. Mihael’s cheeks flushed a few shades redder than they already were, and Jankos only took this as further encouragement. He picked up the pace and after a few moments, Miky finished, bucking his hips up for leverage in the cramped space of the car. Marcin cracked the door just enough to spit, snapping it quickly shut as he wiped his mouth with his sleeve. The sight of it was crude enough to almost get Miky going again, but he refrained. Besides, the confines of an automobile wouldn’t be enough to do all the things he wanted.   
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this started out kinda wholesome and then became very slutty I don't know.
> 
> On a funny side note, the story I put in about Miky failing actually happened to me, and it's why I failed my first drivers test back in the day. I feel like it would be harder to pull this off in a manual, but still. COMIC RELIEF AND POETIC LICENSE FIGHT ME BRO. haha jk.
> 
> Anyways, love you all. Thanks for reading my shitty short chapters.


	16. DPS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rowdy times. That's all I can say.

Wunder was proud of the WoW fiend he’d created out of Jankos during the off-season. Although they weren’t able to dedicate much time to the game now, they still set aside the odd raid night. The two would get together, sometimes at the G2 house, other times at Jankos’s flat. From the outside looking in, nobody would think the two of them were capable of hanging out alone, but nothing brings two players together quite like a guild. Jankos actually enjoyed the calm sense of normalcy Wunder could bring to any situation. But he loved that the toplaner also knew how to loosen up, which was exactly what the doctor ordered after three hours wasted on a raid, and more than twenty team wipes later.

Jankos slammed his fist on the desk a few times and cursed in frustration. Wunder laughed at his childish reaction. 

“That is the real reason why you needed to get your own apartment,” he teased.

“Hey, you should be thankful. I did you all a favor by renting this place - Besides, now you guys can’t harass me for being loud during streams.”

“True, but if you wanted to do me a favor, you’d get a spare desk,” Martin groaned as he got up off the living room floor, his laptop perched on the coffee table.

“What do you wanna do,” the jungler asked, spinning around in his chair boredly.

The Dane glanced at the clock in the bottom corner of his computer screen. 

“Our options are pretty limited considering it’s already almost midnight.”

“Pub? Tomorrow’s our day off~”

Jankos grinned and raised his eyebrows excitedly.

“You know what? You’re a bad influence,” Wunder shrugged, “I’ll go, but only if we pick somewhere near the G2 house. I’m not trusting you to drive me home. You drive badly enough when you’re sober.”

“Smart call, actually.”

\----------------------------------

The pair drove back to the gaming house and walked into town, looking for the first lively bar to catch their attention. It wasn’t a terribly difficult feat in Berlin, but all the same. They ducked into the buzzing, neon lit atmosphere. The bartender slid a couple of bottles across the counter to them, and they took a seat at the end of one of the crowded tables. As long as it wasn’t anime-related or too far off the deep end, Wunder was the type of person you could talk to about anything. They prattled back and forth, sipping their beer casually, mostly bitching about the healers from that failed raid. Wunder was going on passionately about how he should’ve just gone secondary spec and carried them all when he suddenly went quiet, looking like he’d seen a ghost.

“What happened? Something on the tv,” Jankos twisted around to glance back at one of the screens, but there was nothing going on apart from reruns of old games. 

It wasn’t until he lowered his field of vision towards the crowd standing at the bar that he noticed it. A familiar head of dusty blonde hair caught his eye, and as his gaze trailed down his back, an even more familiar black and orange jersey. Upset. And standing beside him was none other than Jankos’s number one rival, Selfmade. The AD Carry must’ve felt their eyes burning holes into the back of his head, because he swiveled around, catching a glimpse of the two buffoons staring at him like he was some sort of disease. 

It annoyed Elias, but he stuck his tongue out at them playfully, tugging Selfmade by the arm as he walked over to their table. Wunder could only watch the two approaching them in horror, musing over how much this fucking kid couldn’t read the atmostphere if his life depended on it. But then again, Upset wouldn’t know about everything that happened, would he? Actually, Selfmade might not even be aware of the havoc he’d wreaked. And judging by the way he willingly followed his new ADC over, it seemed that was the case. It was still bold as hell on the jungler’s behalf, showing face like this in front of Wunder when he knew - at the very least - what the toplaner had witnessed that night. Yet here he stood, acting like nothing ever happened.

“What’s up guys? I guess you had the same idea as us tonight,” Upset waved.

“Wow, Jankos. I didn’t know any of your teammates actually liked you. Did he pay you to come out or something,” Oskar joked, patting Wunder on the back.

“Curb your L9, bro,” Elias smirked, nudging his jungler in the ribs.

“You must have a thing for carries,” Martin remarked smartly. 

“You should tell your toplaner to mind his manners,” Oskar said in Polish, forcing Jankos to scoot down so he could take the spot directly beside him. 

The opposing jungler didn’t even care to keep his distance, their hips knocking together as he slid onto the end of the bench. Jankos visibly flinched as their legs touched, backing off a little more. Marcin’s face looked grim and sunken in, like something in him was about to snap, and Martin tried his best to make normal conversation. 

Upset, who had no idea what was going on, walked around to unobtrusively take a seat next to Wunder. He was the only one taking the bait on the Dane’s social cues, earnestly chiming in on his attempt to reign in a potentially explosive situation. 

“Oh, Wunder. I heard you’re big into World of Warcraft. We should PvP some time,” he smiled.

“Yeah, speaking of PvP,” Jankos said loudly, his focus darting back and forth between Martin and Selfmade. 

Oskar shrugged off the comment, figuring it was some moronic inside joke.

“So...how do you like playing with the new G2 roster? Do you stay in touch with Perkz? I know it’s hard for me, not playing with Nemesis anymore...”

“Really? It’s not Rekkles that you miss. Oh, but I guess you wouldn’t, seeing as you can just drop by  _ our _ house and fuck him whenever you want,” Jankos challenged abrasively.

Selfmade frowned.

“What does it matter, anyways? It’s not like he’d ever go for someone like you,” he replied smugly.

Martin and Elias paused their side conversation, not understanding a single thing their friends were saying, but growing concerned by the tone alone. It was in that split second, the Pole had barely finished uttering the last word of his insult when Jankos violently tackled him to the floor. Selfmade hit the ground hard, Jankos wasting no time straddling his waist and aiming swing after swing at his face with blind fury. For a moment, their teammates watched them in shock, much like the rest of the patrons. But as the reality of the situation dawned on them, they hastily moved to pull the two apart. However, their intervention was not in time to prevent them both from landing a few good hits on each other. Selfmade venomously spat a mouthful of blood in the other Pole’s face as Elias struggled to drag him away. All the while, the two of them shouted a string of incomprehensible vulgarities at one another as their friends hauled them off. 

As they made their way back to the G2 house, Jankos laughed under his breath while he used his t-shirt to dab at his bloody nose. 

“What could possibly be funny right now,” Wunder looked at him incredulously.

“I definitely won,” the jungler grinned proudly, and Martin took the opportunity to ensure no teeth were missing.

“I agree, but I’ve seen cleaner plays, for sure,” the toplaner jested, taking in the state of his teammate.

Jankos felt some blood dripping down from his painfully swollen, split eyebrow, and casually smeared it away with the back of his hand.

“Yeah, but it felt fucking good, though.”

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> for the bloodthirsty peeps who requested this, enjoy.   
> BUT REMEMBER KIDS, violence is not the answer.  
> I really can't believe I wrote this.


	17. Reparations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soft moments, and boys using their words to sort out their issues.

As they crept back into the G2 house, Marcin thanked his lucky stars that Miky was out with his old Misfits friends that night. He dodged a lecture about the risk he took and how there could potentially be repercussions for his professional career if anyone decided to tell higher-ups. And if the conversation wouldn’t have gone that way, it would’ve been the complaint that he wasn’t there to see it for himself. Maybe even a subsequent text to Upset asking if he got it on camera. Jankos tried to be as careful as possible not to drip any blood on the floor as he climbed the stairs, urgently needing a shower - and a few band-aids for good measure. 

Right as the jungler reached the top of the landing, the click of a door opening startled him. It was Rekkles, his head peeking out from his room at the end of the corridor. His eyes widened slightly as they locked with the Pole’s. Marcin couldn’t really blame him for reacting, he was probably a pitiful sight to behold in this condition. However, while he fully expected the AD Carry to retreat to his room and pretend he didn’t see anything, he did the opposite. Martin rushed up to him, cupping his face with his hands, gently tracing fingertips over his wounds in worry.

“What the hell happened to you?”

Jankos may have won the fight, but at this moment, he felt defeated. What could he say?  _ Oh, I punched out your fuck buddy? Very classy.  _ But of course, he could always count on his toplaner to come through for him in tough moments like this. 

“He went for the 1 v 1 IRL with your boyfriend,” Wunder laughed, walking past them with a snack stash to fuel him through the next however many hours he was about to spend on WoW, “to be honest, I didn’t think he had it in him. But in Jankos’s defense, Selfmade was talking a lot of shit. Well, I don’t know for sure what he was saying, because they were speaking Polish, but it  _ sounded like  _ he was talking shit.”

Rekkles couldn’t even process the degree of ridiculousness that had evidently unfolded. This was surely some G2 level nonsense that he, in all of his years as a civilized Fnatic player would never comprehend. And yet, here he was, recognizing that he was the probable catalyst for this entire bind. He felt a mixture of anger, guilt, and disgust. But those emotions would have to be addressed later. Looking after his friend was a priority. The Swede took him by the shoulders, pushing him into the bathroom. 

Jankos wasn’t sure exactly how he imagined Rekkles would react to the news, but it certainly didn’t play out like this. He sat sullenly on the edge of the tub, staring at details of the tiled floor. A drop of blood hit the polished marble, splashing a pattern of nearly microscopic beads around it. He couldn’t bring himself to look at his AD Carry, but he could hear him rummaging around in the cabinets. The Swede sighed, kneeling down in front of Jankos as he poured some hydrogen peroxide onto a gauze pad. 

“You really don’t have t-”

The jungler sucked in a hiss of air as the antiseptic stung his open wounds. He winced as Martin dabbed away the dried blood. Smears of red stained the gauze, and when crimson saturated the white cotton, he’d switch it out for a new one. He was instantly reminded of wiping the blue from Caps’s cheeks just days earlier, and the contrast of it rang through his head. But it ultimately brought him back to the same bitter sentiment, that he was tired of taking care of others. Nevertheless, it wasn’t a quality he could escape. It was in his nature, and he wanted to help. Even so, who was there to help him? He had already proven that he sure as hell couldn’t save himself. His negative thoughts were caught on a loop, and without realizing, he’d been cleaning the same spot over and over again, rubbing the skin raw. He felt the sensation of a hand clasping around his wrist as Jankos pushed his arm away.

“I’ve got it. Don’t worry.”

“O-oh, sorry.”

“You shouldn’t be. It’s late, you can go to bed,” the Pole said dismissively.

“I think...no - I know we need to talk.”

“There’s nothing to talk about at this point.”

“Bullshit,” Rekkles seethed, “coming from the guy who just assaulted someone.”

“Then why don’t you go check on him, huh?”

“But I’m not, am I? Am I?! I’m sitting here taking care of your dumb ass because I care about you, okay? I fucked up. I saw that from the moment you came into my room that morning, but I don’t know how to make it better because I can’t take it back. All I can do is move on from it, and hope that somehow you and I can be friends again.” 

The ADC’s voice was calm, but his desperation was palpable. Marcin frowned, not finding it easy to form an adequate sentence.

“Well, there are things I can’t take back, either,” he laughed spitefully, pointing at the bruise on his face, “I can’t hate you for something you can’t undo. Because I hope you wouldn’t do the same to me. At the end of the day, all of this shit is like a misplay in a game. Who can say if it was miscommunication, or misjudgement, or a combination...But, you get the idea, right? Water under the bridge, basically.”

Rekkles smiled softly as the smoke between them slowly dissipated. Maybe forgiveness can be that simple when someone means a lot to you. Martin placidly picked up another piece of gauze and continued tending to Marcin’s face. 

“So, what did he do to deserve the 1 v 1,” he asked with a slight chuckle.

“Jealousy was a factor, if I’m honest. But he’s had it coming for awhile now. That kid needed a fucking vibe check,” he smirked.

“You’ll beat him up over me, but you won’t fight me for Miky? I’d better start watching my back. Although if this was your outcome, then maybe I stand a chance at winning,” he taunted.

He felt his stomach sink at the mention of their support. Martin probably didn’t have any clue about what had developed between them during their stalemate. But he’d had his fill of vagueness and misunderstandings, so he had to tell the truth.

“Oh, um...So, about that...He and I…”

“What is it? Everything is cool, no?”

“You could say, all my years of simping have finally paid off,” Marcin explained, feeling the heat rise in his cheeks.

“Really,” Rekkles asked in an adorably innocent tone, “so I can fuck Selfmade, then,” he added mischevously. 

“What,” Jankos yelped with fake indignation.

Rekkles laughed as he gingerly placed a bandage across the jungler’s brow.

“I’m just kidding, you can fuck whoever you want,” Marcin grinned, “but you’re not upset, are you?”

“No, I think it’s cute. Besides, you know what this means, don’t you?”

Jankos looked up at him with a curious expression.

“You’ll have to fight me too because Miky is still my partner in the most handsome botlane in Europe,” he smiled, throwing fake jabs at Marcin.

“I would never. If I mess up that pretty face of yours, the most handsome botlane would be no more and then we would be forced to go back to being G2 clown fiesta.”

“Assuming you’d win,” Rekkles winked.

\------------------

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This whole story is me writing myself into a conflict hole and then struggling to dig my way out hahahaha help me  
> Thank you all so much for reading and supporting <3  
> Hope you're all having a good day :3


	18. Rise and Fall

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for the face off between Fnatic and G2 in the finals....

“I know you’re toxic, but damn….what did you say to the guy,” Upset laughed, leaning on the bathroom counter as Selfmade splashed cold water on his face. Sanguine streams washed away down the drain. 

“I didn’t say anything, man. He got all defensive about me seeing Rekkles. Fuck if I know why,” he paused, impatiently drying his face with a towel.

The topic of Rekkles was a sore spot for Upset in a number of ways. Any time the Swede was brought up, it was a sharp reminder of the shoes he had to fill. Not that any of his teammates pressured him, or expected him to be like Martin, it was more of a standard he set for himself. But there were places he knew he would always fall short, and the insecurity was always at the back of his mind. 

Since joining Fnatic, Oskar had become his closest teammate. Which meant he also had to stand by indifferently whenever the Pole confided in him about his previous AD Carry. The fact that he still spent time with Rekkles every now and then was perfectly reasonable, but understanding the nature of their relationship, it always rubbed him the wrong way. Elias succumbed to the idea that ultimately, everyone is seeking approval from someone else. It was the nature of competition in the end, and their entire sense of being was based in sport. So he forgave himself for envying Martin, and he consciously tried to excuse Oskar’s vulgar way of showing reverence to his idol.

Selfmade stood upright and looked at himself squarely in the mirror to assess the damage. Aside from a badly split lip and a bit of swelling, it didn’t seem too terrible. He turned to face Upset, staring him down blankly. The blonde met his gaze, but didn’t speak, awkwardness growing evident in the ADC’s expression. His cheeks flushed a slight shade of pink but he refused to break eye contact.

“WELL,” Oskar asked expectantly.

“Well, what?”

“How horrible do I look,” he asked honestly, rolling his eyes. 

“I mean, you’re not any uglier than usual, so I think you’ll be okay,” Upset replied with a cheeky grin.

The jungler wore an unimpressed frown.

“Better be careful or we’ll be matching, kid,” Oskar teased.

“Kid? Pffft! We’re the same age,” he balked.

“So...are you gonna say anything,” Elias followed up curiously.

“As in  _ snitch _ ? No way, man! What kind of guy do you think I am?”

“No, I mean to Rekkles.”

“Well, seeing as he plays with that idiot almost everyday, his face should do the talking for me. Besides, we have to play them on stage in two days. It will be fairly obvious.”

Upset giggled at the thought of the camera panning first on Selfmade’s injured visage and then cutting away to Jankos’s equally ragged appearance. 

“That’s gonna be priceless, by the way,” the blonde smirked, “better hope they don’t pick you for a post-game interview.”

“Yeah, either that or pray the makeup artist is smurfing that day.”

\-------------------------------------

The next afternoon when Jankos showed up for practice, he entered the gaming room, where the entire team was already sitting in their spots. Well, minus Caps, who was probably sleeping in till the last second. Rekkles and Miky still hadn’t quite made amends, but the AD Carry was admittedly nervous for his reaction to Jankos’s injuries. If the blame fell on him again, he knew it would be nearly impossible to recover his relationship with the support. 

Mihael spun around in his chair and instantly turned his attention to the jungler. 

“Hello my handsome boyyyy,” Jankos cooed, trying to act like nothing was amiss.

“Holy moly. I leave you alone with Wunder for one night and you come back with a black eye? Why am I not surprised,” Miky laughed.

“Yeah, let’s not talk about it,” Marcin sighed, placing an affectionate kiss on Miky’s lips.

The brunette squirmed in his seat a little, still unsure how he felt about being so open in front of the others. Rekkles smirked at him, enjoying the sight of his flustered teammate. This only intensified when Miky realized that the Swede was watching so intently. He quickly swiveled his chair back to face his monitor, slumping down in his seat to hide his embarrassment. 

“Don’t blame me,” the toplaner called indignantly from his seat at the opposite end of the room.

“NOBODY’S BLAMING YOU MARTIN LET’S NOT TALK ABOUT IT,” Jankos said loudly, anxiously interrupting whatever may have followed from the tall Dane.

Wunder shrugged apathetically and took the hint to shut up. 

\------------------------------------------------

“You didn’t really think you’d get away with me not asking about what happened, did you?”

Jankos grimaced, knowing this conversation was inevitable. Naturally, if Miky found out who he picked a fight with, it would raise some red flags. 

“It was Selfmade. I ran into him at a bar,” he confessed.

Miky looked a little vexed, various thoughts bouncing around in his head.

“What? Am I not supposed to gank enemy jungle,” he joked, trying to soften the mood.

“I know you guys aren’t friends, but you’ve never been on fighting terms before. It clearly had something to do with Rekkles,” Miky sighed.

Jankos flinched at the mention of it.  _ Here we go. _

“Yeah, it did. But those feelings were still very fresh at the time - well, they still are. Everything’s been happening so fast. I don’t even know where this season went. But the most important point is, I don’t want you to think that I’m unsatisfied being with you. You couldn’t begin to understand how happy I’ve been...winning you over is something I dreamed of since the first day you joined. Number one Miky simp forever,” he explained as sincerely as possible.

“You still want him,” Miky said, not a question, but a statement.

“What? Miky? No…”

“I know it’s true because I do, too,” he interrupted, “You don’t have to deny your feelings, Jankos. I understand how much it sucks, trust me.”

“Wait, huh?”

“I’m saying it’s okay if you’re not over it. I’m not, either. And I’d be a liar if I said otherwise. At least you got the chance to have him. I’d be even more hung up if I was in your position, too,” Mihael replied candidly.

Jankos didn’t quite know how to digest this revelation, but he was assured Miky didn’t mean any harm. And he apparently recognized that the feeling was mutual. That’s what mattered. Jankos interlaced his fingers with the support’s and pulled him into his lap. 

“It’s overrated,” he whispered into Miky’s ear, nibbling softly on his earlobe. 

\---------------------------

After both Fnatic and G2 had taken down Astralis in semifinals, it was as history dictated, another final battle between the two top orgs for the LEC Spring title. It was safe to say that neither of them had been sweating the match against former Origen, but now it was time for the ultimate face-off. 

It had been uncomfortable enough, completing their best of three against Astralis on stage a day earlier with a small bandage adorning his brow and bruises to match. Now it was worse, because today he and Selfmade would be sporting matching injuries whilst sitting mere meters apart, pretending it was all simply a strange coincidence.

Before it was time for the two teams to make their grand entrances, they stood across from one another backstage, waiting for their cue. Selfmade and Jankos admittedly lacked the guts to look at one another. They knew this would only make things look more suspicious and with so many officials around, the pair played it cool. Upset, on the other hand, spared no humility in shooting Marcin a disgusted glare any time their eyes met, like he was staring at the most unscrupulous human being to roam the Earth. And although he probably held a similar level of contempt for Rekkles, even if only for the sake of jealousy alone, he was reduced to a dog with his tail between his legs as the other ADC approached his jungler.

It was the first time Rekkles had seen Selfmade in person since Jankos’s violent outburst. He broke the formation of their two perfect lines to walk over to Oskar. They met in a friendly embrace, the jungler’s hands lingering on Martin’s waist as they stepped apart. Miky checked Jankos for a reaction, but the Pole had his eyes trained dead ahead, intent on listening to the casters beyond the curtains. It’s not that he hadn’t noticed, and it’s not that it wasn’t an affront to his pride, but he reconciled that he’d been in the wrong from the get-go. And at some point he’d be forced to apologize. So, the sooner he could get past his ego, the better. 

Miky still found himself struggling with some arbitrary feelings against Rekkles, but if Jankos had reached a truce with him, then by extension he should, too. He only took issue with the Swede for betraying Jankos’s feelings in the first place, despite the fact that his own envy played an undeniable role in creating that monster. Yet, he still hadn’t been able to pretend that nothing ever happened, as much as he missed chatting and playing duos with him everyday. However, this, in turn, had a negative effect on their synergy in the botlane. And frankly, the support was a bit nervous about how that deficit would play out on the rift today. They could scuff it and still recover against Astralis, but Fnatic was a whole different animal. And they only had one game to spare.

One by one, they shuffled out onto the stage and took their seats. The uproar from the packed arena reverberated through their chests. It was all focus and skill from there on out. No wiggle room, even in picks and bans, as much as Caps longed to pull some rabbit out of the hat. But to Rekkles’s dismay, their play in the first game was terribly unsynchronized. Miky was hardly communicating, and instead of initiating plays, he was expecting Rekkles to make all calls. Yet half the time he was out of position, or not landing the proper follow up combos. Fnatic won the early game and ran with it. 

In typical G2 style they threw an important game. The team normally wouldn’t sweat this very much. They were the type to laugh it off, say it was all part of the plan, and seize the rest of the series for the victory. But this wasn’t how Rekkles operated. Especially not during higher stakes matchups. The split title wasn’t for much more than decoration at this point in his career. But this was the icing on the cake - if Fnatic championed them in this last showdown, it would be a repeat of his departure to Elements all over again. Not to discredit his triumphs with G2 in the season overall, but if he left a team for the sake of winning, and the ones he abandoned came out on top - how bad would that look? 

When Rekkles had doubts, especially during stressful situations, he had a difficult time not letting them overtake him. The respective teams walked backstage to take ten before the next game. They had private areas to reset and strategize with their coaches. Miky and Jankos sat hip to hip at the end of the couch while Grabbz began his spiel about where they should try to improve. This was basically criticism for the bot lane worded as nicely as possible. Once he opened up the floor to suggestions, he had to shut down a barrage of Caps’s wild ideas for picks to “take the enemy by storm”. 

“It wasn’t draft difference, Caps. As much as we all hate Grabbz’s drafts, we can’t flame him this time,” Wunder said honestly.

Rekkles had a lot to say, but he had the sense that in his current mental state, if he said it, it would come off entirely wrong. Besides, all of the time in the world might not rectify their personal differences, and they only had about two minutes left of their break. As the group headed out, waiting to be called onstage once more, Jankos glanced over his shoulder at his two sullen bottom laners. They weren’t even looking at each other. He jogged back behind the pair as they walked down the hall, patting a hand on each of their backs encouragingly. 

“What’s wrong, guys? I thought you were the most handsome botlane in the world, not the most depressed,” he laughed awkwardly, watching the joke fall flat.

“Okay, seriously. If you don’t say anything, nothing about this game will be different than the last,” Jankos added.

“Yeah, speaking of not saying anything, I missed your handsome voice in comms, Miky,” Rekkles said charmingly.

“Me, too. You’re the one who’s good at karaoke, so you have the best voice. You should be talking the most,” the jungler grinned.

Miky quirked a small smile and shrugged.

“Oh, and by the way, if we’re gonna be the most handsome botlane, we’re gonna have to be a power couple. Which means, you have to wear the pants in the relationship, because I obviously can’t initiate shit without you,” Rekkles winked. 

The brunette blushed and looked at his feet.

“Yeah. Whatever.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> No beta I die like Fnatic in week 1. I'm a G2 fan, but honestly...it hurts to watch them get stomped. Hoping for a turn around ^.^   
> Of course very happy that both LCS and LEC are back in full swing - well, minus stage games D: one day tho
> 
> Thank you all so much for reading and commenting. And I hope you continue to enjoy.


	19. Two to Tango?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys get turnt...Why do I even write summaries, honestly?

Rekkles wasn’t exactly satisfied with the meager amount of communication they’d gotten in before their next round, but they would be called on at any moment and there wasn’t much else he could do. He watched on with a vacant expression as the jungler ruffled the brunette’s hair and placed a loving kiss on his forehead before returning to his spot to wait beside their top laner. The announcer’s voice bellowed through the stadium, and the opponents marched back into the fray, lightheaded from the adrenaline of the applause and the flashing lights. 

However, as they scooted closer to their computers, they noticed something odd. The internet was out. Before much longer, an official timeout was underway, with the staff in a frenzy to fix the issue. The players were ushered offstage once again. 

“My phone has a hotspot. Let’s just use that,” Caps joked enthusiastically.

“As long as we don’t have to listen to “Silver Scrapes” for two hours, I don’t give a fuck,” Marcin added playfully.

In the lounge, the boys wasted time on their phones, mindlessly scrolling through twitter. Caps took the time to hang out with his parents, who spent the most time with the team out of all the players’ families. They had almost become like a second pair of guardians for all of the G2 members. Even Rekkles was happy to have them around again, having known them from the midlaner’s time on Fnatic. It always felt like they had relatives there to support them, even when their own couldn’t make it out to Berlin for games. 

Jankos was restless, not content to sit around on social media like the rest of the boys. Admittedly, coffee before a game might not have been the best idea, but now he had all of this energy with no outlet. He bounced his knees around as he sat back on the sofa, his movements inadvertently shaking Miky, who sat on the cushion beside him. The support cast him a sidelong glance as a hint to knock it off. Marcin smiled back at him sheepishly, with an inaudible “sorry”. He got up, deciding it would be best to walk it off, excusing himself from the others to take a stroll around the complex. Rekkles tucked his phone in his back pocket and he stood up to follow Jankos out the door. Stretching his legs didn’t sound like a bad idea. The carry noticed how Mihael’s eyes lingered on him suspiciously as he watched them go. 

“What’s up with Miky? Is everything okay between you two,” Martin asked once they were out of earshot.

“I think the question is more about  _ you two _ , not us. Have you guys talked properly since your little date with Selfmade,” Jankos asked curiously.

Rekkles clicked his tongue.

“Don’t call it that...But no, actually. I don’t see what that has to do with him,” he said in his characteristically stoic voice.

“I think he was pretty angry with you, but I can’t say for sure if it was him being jealous or him being defensive for me, ” Marcin shrugged.

The marksman sighed, running a hand through his perfectly coiffed hair.

“Oh, Miky. What am I gonna do with you?”

“Well, he did tell me he still has a thing for you, so I guess just...don’t steal him from me, that’s all I can say,” Jankos laughed. 

“Wow. What a fucking power move, admitting something like that to your partner,” Rekkles smirked, “but don’t worry. I’ve been getting a kick out of watching him get all worked up by your public affection.”

“Ooooo ~ Martin,” Jankos replied slyly, “I didn’t take you for that type.”

“Do you think it’s worth talking to him...I mean, beyond the in-game stuff,” Rekkles asked seriously, “I’m not sure where to begin, but I do miss hanging out like we used to.”

“Then tell him that, but you’d better get your ass in there fast before the internet starts up again. Cause I prefer ganking top,” the jungler said with a wink.

“Wish me luck,” Rekkles raised his eyebrows comically as he turned to jog back to G2’s lounge. 

Jankos continued on his adventure through the never-ending maze of hallways, and for a fleeting second, he was reminded of their laser tag match months prior. He thought of the kiss he shared with Rekkles that day and it sent a shiver down his spine. Suddenly, his thoughts were interrupted by something even more suggestive. The soft echo of a stifled moan from the end of the corridor caught his attention. He made his way forward as stealthily as possible, careful not to let his footsteps make a sound. The Pole felt oddly guilty as he sidled up against the wall, trying to get a vantage point to peek inside of the dark room. The door was barely cracked, and the closer he got, the more he heard. 

There were soft, breathy groans and the slapping of skin on skin. He didn’t know  _ who  _ he was about to see, but he had a pretty good guess what they were doing. His heart was beating a million miles per hour and he could swear he was sweating with nervousness as he slowly looked through the opening of the door. He kept his eyes on the scene for no more than ten seconds, but it felt like he’d witnessed an entire porno by the time his brain registered what he’d seen. In the dim office, he saw Upset, bent over a desk, Selfmade mercilessly fucking him from behind, fingertips digging into the carry’s lithe hips with a vengeance.

Jankos squeezed his eyes shut and quietly made his retreat.

_ I wonder if they have mental edge now, _ he thought humorously. 

\---------------------------------------

As he made his way back to G2’s room, he ran into Miky and Rekkles who were softly chatting in one of the abandoned rooms. He debated a few things. One, if what he’d just seen should stay with him to the grave. And two, if he should bother them or leave them be. But fortunately, they noticed him passing by and flagged him down. He walked in casually, standing behind Mihael’s chair to bend down and clasp his arms around his chest, hugging him sweetly. All the while, he kept his eyes glued on Rekkles, making the action seem, at least from the Swede’s point of view, teasingly possessive. 

“What are my beautiful botlaners up to,” he asked boisterously as ever. 

Before Rekkles had a chance to respond, Marcin’s cell phone buzzed. He picked up and immediately rolled his eyes.

“Okay, Grooooaaaaabbbz,” he groaned, “we’ll be right there.”

“Sounds like they fixed the technical issue,” he explained.

\-------------------------------

“Alright, and we’re back on to the rift, ready for more action,” Quickshot’s voice boomed excitedly through the speakers, “in a moment we’ll be getting into picks and bans.”

“That’s right. We thank you all for your patience. As we wait for our teams to finish their tech checks, Sjokz is on the floor for a quick interview with Jankos,” Medic added.

“Jankos, thanks for taking the time to do this last minute interview with us,” Eefje began.

“Thank you for having me. The fact that you asked me when Rekkles was an option is a big compliment,” he joked. 

“Well, we asked him first, but he declined, so,” she laughed, “I’m joking - only joking!”

_ It’s okay, Sjokz. I’m used to being the backup plan, _ he thought cynically. But he just giggled awkwardly instead.

“It’s a little off-topic, but I have to ask, what happened to your eye there,” she said, pointing at his bruised brow bone, the cameras zooming in, “did you try ice-skating again?”

“Yeah, that’s exactly what it was, actually. I should’ve known better than to go without you. It’s harder when you don’t have anyone to hold your hand and walk you across the ice,” he played it off.

“Some of the fans pointed out that you and Selfmade seem to be matching today,” the cameras panned onto Selfmade who tried to steel his nerves and focus on his monitor, “Is there any rivalry happening off the rift,” she asked harmlessly.

The rest of G2 leaned back in their chairs to stare over at Oskar from across the stage. Those that knew what was going on, which was every member except the endearingly oblivious Caps, found the situation rather amusing. Jankos leaned towards her, pretending to tell a secret as he whispered into the mic.

“Sjokz, don’t tell my teammates, but Selfmade and I secretly went ice skating together. We have to keep our friendship hidden because you know - enemy jungler narrative or whatever,” he said with a grin.

On the big screen, the cameras switched over to a view of Wunder, who was doubled over in his chair, laughing his ass off. 

Thankfully, the checks were finished, and Sjokz was forced to wrap up the questions so he could get back in the game. Jankos sat in his seat, scooting up to his computer with a sense of relief. 

“Jesus, man. You dodged that like a pro,” Wunder grinned. 

Marcin smiled, but found his eyes wandering off to his right, checking first for Selfmade, who was thankfully not looking his way, and next for Upset. He smirked inwardly as he noted the blonde’s disheveled hair. His mind flashing back to the image of Selfmade’s spare hand tangled in the ADC’s locks as he pressed his head against the table, forcefully thrusting their bodies together. Elias felt his stare and they made eye contact for a split second before the Pole looked away shamefully. He decided what he saw was best kept a secret.

\-----------------------------

“I’m not sure what you said to Miky, but it worked. You guys fucking dominated their bottom lane,” Jankos praised, nudging Rekkles in the ribs.

The team had stolen yet another split title out from under Fnatic’s nose. Now they were at the gaming house, deciding the best course of action to celebrate. Miky voted for pizza, Caps voted for staying in and playing more soloQ, Wunder voted for raiding, and Rekkles voted for clubbing. Of course, being an outgoing person, Jankos was in favor of the marksman’s idea. But the key would be convincing the others to join them. But in order for it to be a celebration, it made more sense for everyone to be happy with the decision. And since the win was a team effort, naturally, they should celebrate together. 

In the end, they settled for a little bit of everything, all in the comfort of their own living room. They ordered pizza and got alcohol - which of course, Caps only partook in the chaser - that being orange juice. But they splurged on the freshly squeezed kind just for him. Rekkles was the DJ, putting on his favorite EDM mix. Caps and Miky sat on the floor battling at Magic the Gathering, and Wunder was using his laptop in the corner on World of Warcraft. He was talented enough to raid and vibe with his team at the same time. Meanwhile, Jankos and Rekkles were playing drinking games. Which, in classic LoL pro style, consisted of playing 1 v 1, and the loser was forced to take a shot of whatever nasty mix of liquor the winner could create.

The jungler grimaced as he shotgunned the first concoction. Rekkles chuckled in satisfaction. 

“You’d better step it up, because it’s only gonna get harder to win, the more tipsy you get,” he teased.

“This game is hard rigged,” Jankos argued, “I’m already going up against the best player in EU, where is my handicap?”

Martin shrugged, popping the cap off a beer.

“Cheers to that,” he said, taking a drawn out swig.

“You’re not supposed to agree,” Jankos exclaimed.

Marcin lost a couple more matches, until either the pity or the beer kicked in for the Swede and he finally lost one. Marcin, in all his mirth, poured the gnarliest mix of drinks he could imagine and slid the shot over to Martin. The ADC tanked it like a champ, throwing his head back as he downed the shot, wincing slightly before washing it down with some ale.

“That’s cheating,” Jankos teased.

“If anything, the more I drink, the more advantage you have, so you should be thankful,” Rekkles shrugged innocently.

Eventually, it reached the point where they were both too inebriated to play, and they gave up. At which point, Martin sloppily grabbed Jankos by the hand and the two proceeded to slow dance around the living room like stumbling idiots, to music that was wildly out of place with their moves. Dubstep blared in the background, but they ignored it and continued in their drunken waltz. Wunder laughed hysterically while Caps and Miky watched them in amused horror. 

“This is the same feeling I get when my parents do something embarrassing,” Caps said.

As they made their way over the midlaner and support, Jankos flamboyantly spun Rekkles out like a tango dancer, and the Swede flung himself onto the sofa. 

“I’m too dizzy, gimme a sec,” he smiled, laying back on the couch.

“That means it’s your turn, Mikyyyyy,” Jankos cooed, holding out his hand.

The support shook his head fervently.

“I’m not drunk enough for that,” he said plainly.

“Awww, come on. Twerk for me,” the jungler laughed. 

For a brief second, Wunder spun around in his chair, looking away from his game despite being mid bossfight to see if the support would actually do it. But of course, Miky wasn’t about to participate in his teammate’s antics anytime soon. At least not by choice, but Jankos hoisted him to his feet, dragging him around and forcing him to dance, too. Caps looked up at the Pole impatiently.

“You can’t just steal my opponent in the middle of a game, man,” he complained, but couldn’t help giggling at the helpless expression on Mihael’s face.

“Then let’s do something we can all play together,” Rekkles suggested.

“Like what,” Wunder asked over his shoulder.

“Oh! Oh! OH,” Caps excitedly got up, running off to who knows where.

He rushed back into the room moments later, holding a box, which he threw onto Rekkles’s lap. 

“Twister,” he asked dubiously as he stared down the game, “isn’t this for like - five year olds?”

“Yeah, Caps. That mat isn’t even big enough to fit me, let alone all of us,” Wunder said, finally logging off of WoW.

“Exactly! I’ll have the advantage because I’m smaller than the rest of you,” Rasmus said proudly.

“You won’t be laughing when one of these boosted animals lands on you,” Miky said, pointing at Jankos, who still had his hands around his waist, rocking him slowly back and forth. 

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry, I'm posting this asleep. Like I'm barely alive rn. So, sorry in advance if the proofreading is no bueno. But I must say G2 house party is very fun to write and I can't wait to continue it. Also the fact that im indulging my own twister prompt idea in my own fic is gross but idc im going for it and you can't stop me.
> 
> I love you all. Good night zzzZZZZZZZ


	20. TFT

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Twister fight tactics?

“Ok, fine. We can try it, but only because I want to see Miky in compromising positions,” Jankos agreed.

The support shook his head and let out an exasperated sigh, breaking free of the jungler’s hold on him.

“Yessssss,” Rasmus cheered, hastily dragging the coffee table to clear the center of the room. 

“How do we decide who’s gonna move first,” Miky asked as he laid the polka dotted mat out on the floor.

“We can just do it by alphabetical order of our last names, since our first names are all Martin,” Rekkles suggested.

“Okay, but only if the person closest to the end of the alphabet goes first,” the midlaner added with a cheeky grin.

“We’ll give it to you because this was your idea, anyways,” Wunder conceded. 

“And then I guess as it progresses, whoever can reach the spinner will have to do it for that turn,” Mihael shrugged.

“Shit. I was just gonna be the ref, but now I have no excuse. Thanks, Miky,” the top laner said sarcastically.

“Ok, Caps....left hand blue,” Rekkles said, after lazily spinning the dial.

The Dane slapped his hand down onto the circle enthusiastically.

“It’s your turn, Mikyyy,” the ADC smirked, “....left foot red.”

“I’ve got this one in the bag, guys. I’m calling it now,” the support said as he stepped onto the mat.

The Swede spun for himself.

“Wait, you can’t spin for your own move. That’s cheating,” Wunder said, snatching the board and flicking the dial again, “right hand green. And Jankos…left foot blue.” 

Wunder set the spinner at the side of the mat and Miky bent down to spin for him.

“Right foot red.” 

\-------------------------------

The team was only about five minutes in when the mat started to become chaotic. Caps balanced and reached out a toe from its spot on the board to carefully kick the spinner. Their bodies were only a few bad twists away from turning into a human knot. Rasmus craned his neck to read the outcome.

“Jankos, right hand green,” he chuckled. 

“Oh my god. How?! Martin, move your fat hand, I need a green space,” the Pole cried, already in an awkward squat over Caps and Miky.

“My hands are not fat,” Rekkles whined defensively, double checking his fingers just in case.

“Not you, cutie. The  _ OTHER  _ Martin,” he exclaimed.

“Too bad, bro. Find your own circle,” the top laner replied stubbornly. 

He was forced to take the farthest possible green spot, weaving his arm under the marksman’s legs to reach halfway across the map. 

“Good luck to whoever the fuck has to spin next,” Jankos sighed.

Miky strained his arm, barely able to reach the spinner.

“Wunder...right foot yellow.”

“If I kick any of you in the face, I’m sorry in advance,” he said, slowly untangling his leg out from under the others to reach it over to a yellow circle.

Caps and Miky broke into laughter as Jankos winced, the top laner practically tea-bagging him in this position.

“I thought this was Twister, not Call of Duty,” he frowned.

“I could be like you, Marcin, and rip an ungodly fart right now, but I’m a nice guy, so there’s that,” the tall man reasoned.

“Thank you, actually,” Jankos chuckled, “I promise not to use fart tactics in this game.”

Rekkles giggled under his breath.

“Jankos...challenger in TFT...team fart tactics,” the Swede teased.

Rasmus moved next. His shorter stature worked to his advantage in every situation except when he had to put the opposite foot to the other side of the mat. He was essentially in a split, one foot on red, the other on green, diagonally. 

“I really regret wearing socks right now,” Caps whimpered as his feet slipped a little bit further apart.

“Imagine Grabbz’s reaction. ‘Boys, why did you go to the ER last night’,” Miky imitated the coach, “well you see, Caps tore his groin playing Twister,” he laughed.

“Seriously, though,” Rasmus grunted in pain, “whoever is down there, please take off my socks. I don’t even know where my feet are anymore to be honest.”

Rekkles snatched the sock off of the first foot he saw, trying to be helpful.

“Ah,” the support yelped, “that’s  _ my  _ foot!”

“My bad,” the AD carry smirked, reaching out to tickle Mihael’s exposed arch.

“H-hey! That’s fucking sabotage,” the brunette hissed, trying to kick his hand away.

“I can’t see anything besides Wunder’s ass, but you better behave back there, children,” Jankos replied. 

Wunder shook his butt in the jungler’s face menacingly. 

“Just spin already. Someone! Please,” Caps whined, pushed to the limits of his flexibility.

Miky had to contort his body, awkwardly weaving back underneath Jankos. But he also had to reach his arm under Rekkles’s torso to reach the circle he needed, placing their faces only centimeters apart. 

“Oh, hi,” the Swede smirked cutely.

Miky blushed uncontrollably, but tried to act normal. 

“Aren’t you glad you joined G2,” the support joked.

“Now more than ever, actually,” he replied with a wink. 

Rekkles had to move next, snaking his leg underneath Miky, who was above Caps, but below everyone else. As he slid past him to reach his foot to the correct place, his thigh accidentally rubbed past the support’s crotch, and Mihael clenched his teeth to fight back a moan. Unfortunately, he was only in sweats, which didn’t offer much cover for his sudden erection. 

“Sorry,” Rekkles whispered.

Jankos was finally able to maneuver out from under Wunder, now arched over Caps, Miky, and Rekkles, with only the top laner’s legs crossed over his. Wunder was then forced to move his arm to the other side of the mat, unnaturally contorting his body in a bridge over his teammates. 

“It’s a good thing I’m fucking tall,” he grunted, clearly uncomfortable, “I’m not gonna be able to hold this for very long, so someone better spin.”

“Bro,” Rekkles shifted a bit, struggling to reach the dial, once again brushing against Miky’s hard-on. 

But this time it was so unexpected that the support couldn’t hold back the lewd groan that escaped his lips. 

“Who is making hentai noises,” the top laner chuckled, “Jankos, now is not the time.”

“Hey! Don’t blame me, blame the weeb,” he flamed Mihael.

Wunder couldn’t stop laughing, and his socks also started to slip on the mat. 

“Uh-oh. Guys. We have a problem,” he said.

“What do you mean,” Jankos asked, concerned.

“London bridge….might be falling down. Caps, if you value your manhood, I would break your split right now.”

“Oh god,” Jankos groaned, “if you take us out, you lose by default, Wunder.”

Caps pulled his legs back together just in time as Wunder’s slippery feet gave out from under him, his backbend collapsing on all of his teammates below. All of them wound up in a tangled dogpile. They giggled uncontrollably for a minute or so, before slowly unwinding themselves. 

“Well, everyone wins except Wunder,” Jankos announced as he stood up and dusted himself off. 

“What can I say? My socks were running it down,” the Dane shrugged. 

  
  
  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was fun to write <3   
> Hope you enjoy!


End file.
